Fresh off its acquisitions of mobile advertising network AdMob, video solutions firm On2 Technologies and online advertising solutions provider Teracent, Google is reportedly poised to continue its shopping spree as it negotiates to purchase local business review site Yelp. Citing three sources with knowledge of the deal, The New York Times reports Google first held acquisition talks with Yelp several years ago, but the discussion grew more serious in the last two months–the companies have talked price and related details, but an official agreement remains unsigned. Yelp’s asking price is said to be north of $500 million.
Yelp–founded in 2004 by PayPal veterans Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons–offers user reviews and related social commerce tools spanning local businesses across the U.S. and Canada. Over 25 million consumers access the service each month, and the startup is expected to generate revenues topping $30 million in 2009, driven by ad sales. In addition to its mobile website, Yelp also offers smartphone applications optimized for the iPhone, BlackBerry and Palm Pre platforms as well as Google’s Android operating system.
2. Verizon makes Bing the default search engine in some BlackBerrys
By Mike Dano
Verizon Wireless is quietly making Microsoft’s Bing the default search engine on some of its BlackBerry smartphones, thereby replacing options that included Wikipedia and Google. The move stems from a search agreement inked between Verizon and Microsoft in January.
“We’re a proud supporter of Microsoft’s Bing search engine,” wrote Verizon Wireless spokesman Jeffrey Nelson in response to questions on the topic. “On select smartphones (Storm 2 the most prominent), we’ve changed the VZW-supplied Web menu to make Bing the default search engine.”
Added Nelson: “If you prefer another search engine, it’s still your choice: Simply type in the URL of the search engine you prefer, mark it as a “favorite” and *SNAP* you’re done.” Nelson also noted that various search options, including those from Google, are available through RIM’s BlackBerry App World storefront.
BlackBerry enthusiast website CrackBerry.com first noted the changes this morning. Users of the site reported Microsoft’s Bing as the only available search provider in the browser of their device, replacing a previous list of options that included Google, Wikipedia and Dictionary.com. A cursory test of a Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Tour however showed Google and other options as still available.
Nelson said the carrier’s action covers several BlackBerry models, but was not immediately able to provide specifics. He said the update affects the devices’ Web browser.
Verizon Wireless’ Bing promotion isn’t the first time the carrier has tinkered with the devices of its subscribers. The carrier in July remotely pushed the Slacker Radio application to subscribers toting the BlackBerry Storm.
Android Market doubles–trouble for Apple?
By Jason Ankeny
Google’s Android Market application storefront unofficially surpassed the 20,000 app benchmark this week, according to analytics provider AndroLib.com. The number may not seem particularly impressive in comparison to Apple’s App Store, which now boasts close to 118,000 total iPhone and iPod touch applications based on the latest count supplied by mobile ad exchange Mobclix. But consider that Android Market only reached the 10,000 application milestone in early September, almost a year after its October 2008 launch–by contrast, the store added the next 10,000 apps in under four months. The leap supports an earlier report issued by in-application analytics provider Flurry stating that Android software project starts increased 94 percent between September and October, a period coinciding with the announcement that Verizon Wireless would release Motorola’s Droid smartphone, and makes it clear that developers are betting big on Android’s future.
Those bets are poised to pay off handsomely in the years ahead according to a new forecast issued by ABI Research, which anticipates application downloads to reach five billion by 2014, up from an estimated 2.3 billion downloads in 2009. While ABI believes the iPhone will remain the leading platform for mobile apps, the forecast declares Android will benefit most from the upcoming boom, increasing from 11 percent of total application downloads this year to 23 percent five years from now. Chalk up the growth to the continued expansion of the Android OS–there are presently 14 smartphones running on Android, and a flood of additional devices are expected in 2010. (Chief among them: Google’s rumored branded Android phone, the Nexus One, reportedly slated to drop early next year.)
Despite Android’s recent growth spurt, expect Apple to remain out in front for the foreseeable future–according to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, “Apple has a two- or three-year lead” over its mobile competition. This week, the investment firm released its Mobile Internet Report, the 424-page sequel to its influential 1995 Internet Report, considered the bible of the dot-com era in many quarters. Morgan Stanley projects more consumers will access the Internet via mobile devices than PCs within five years, with Apple in the “pole
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position.” The study notes that as of now, iPhone users generate 65 percent of the world’s mobile web browsing and 50 percent of its app usage, despite representing just 17 percent of the global smartphone installed base–at least for the time being, the Android platform lags far behind, making up 8 percent of mobile browsing along with 11 percent of app usage.
But while the Morgan Stanley report concedes Apple is leading in mobile innovation and impact “for now,” it argues that the depth of each app ecosystem, user experience and pricing will ultimately determine the long-term winners, adding “Newcomer Android has quickly surpassed the old guard.” In other words, let’s not crown Apple just yet–its lead is sizable, but for the first time, the company should be looking over its shoulder. -Jason
3. Smartphones now yield half of AdMob’s U.S. ad requests
By Jason Ankeny
Smartphones accounted for 48 percent of all mobile web and application advertising requests across AdMob’s U.S. network in November 2009–up from 31 percent a year earlier–according to the firm’s latest Mobile Metrics Report. AdMob adds that WiFi usage has also surged over the last year, with 24 percent of U.S. requests coming in over a WiFi network last month, compared to eight percent a year earlier. The report credits the growth in part to a new class of WiFi-
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enabled devices distinct from mobile phones, including Apple’s iPod touch, the Sony PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DSi. Fifty-five percent of ad requests in the U.S. now come from devices with WiFi capability, up from 19 percent a year earlier–in addition, 36 percent of iPhone traffic in the U.S. originated over WiFi, substantially higher than other WiFi-capable devices.
AdMob also notes that the number of unique iPhone and iPod touch users outside the U.S. grew rapidly over 2009–as of November, 50 percent of unique users were located outside of the U.S., up from 39 percent in January 2009. Apple devices experienced the strongest percentage growth in Japan, France, and Australia. Android also exploded in 2009: Six months ago, the HTC Dream generated 92 percent of all of AdMob’s Android traffic, and in November, the same device represented only 37 percent of requests worldwide, with the Motorola Droid (22 percent), HTC Magic (21 percent) and HTC Hero (9 percent) all making strides in recent months. In all, Android generated 27 percent of smartphone requests last month, up from 20 percent in October 2009.
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An unauthorized, unothodox, but concise history of mobile telecommunications.
Starting with the initial AM based systems of the twenties, to the technical breakthroughs of FM, SPC and the microprocessor all the way to the cellular concept, personal communications, Long Term Evolution and beyond.
Stay tuned for this piecemeal treatment of one of the most exciting and useful technologies that ever hit the planet.
If you haven’t figured yourself out, take some time and do it.
Go somewhere alone;the sea, the mountain, the terrace of the building you’re living in : Take yourself apart and put yourself back together.
Once you’ve gotten your act together, then forging the way ahead is a piece of cake.
Same applies to the corporation.
If your board is asking you (like they did me) how to beat the competition, tell them they’ve already lost to the competition.
Wanna beat the competition? Stop asking dumb questions and figure out your strengths. Then draw up a vision of who you wanna be and drive ahead. The rest will take care of itself.
So we expect more layoffs (starting with the oldies, and experienced staff) more margin cuts, more mergers, more direct to retail cutting middlemen, more lawsuits, more suicides, more strikes, more disgruntled behaviour and more of the same old more.
What we’re not seeing is any smart and innovative market disrupting moves to curb this situation (and by that we don’t mean the easy and imagineless road to cost cutting; we mean a way to break away from competition based on price and move on to new profitable ventures).
Big Rupert Murdoch sez that once he starts charging subscriptions for his online media, he’s gonna block Google from accessing his sites content. (ie. remove stories from Google search index). This implies that content from sites such as The Sun, The Times and the Wall Street Journalwill not show up in our search results thus encouraging people to pay for online content. He’s also gonna lobby so that other online news media pursue the same strategy. This means that eventually, if things pan out the way he plans, Google search results will be poorer thus undermining the value of the search engine, and Google’s business value. In recent months, Murdoch and his boyz stepped up their war of words with Google, accusing it of “kleptomania” and acting as a “parasite” for including News Corp content in its Google News pages. Murdoch has been turned off by the open access to information that currently exists in the www as well as by the fact that his inet acquisition MySpace has struggled in the face of competition from Facebook in recent years, and is due to fall short of its targets in a lucrative search deal with Google – a slip that could cost the site more than $100m in payments from the internet advertising giant. Some critics of this strategy claim that Murdoch has got the wrong handle on internet business and doesn’t understand that search engines enhance the value of web sites like the WSJ through
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improved traffic, implying more revenue through advertising. Murdoch they say clings to the old subscription model instead of developing his business through ad based revenue. On the other hand, this simple but intriguing strategy may just work (as it did in Korea) and may put the content holder in the driver’s seat. I mean Google currently forges contacts (through online ads etc..) with content holders so that Google gets a piece of the pie on a per click basis. If some other search engine comes around and gives the content holder a better deal (perhaps less charges on a per click basis) then this content holder’s engine may be allowed to show site results while thus enhancing the engine’s value – on a per segment basis – and undermining Google’s current leadership position in the search engine business. In other words sell your content/business to the highest – or most attractive- bidder. So we may have search engine segmentation and not a universally applicable search engine. We may also see a search engine for search engines (one step up in the information chain) ! Interesting strategy and interesting tactics (actually ingenious) for the relentless drive for market share.
Mr. Murdoch’s point of view coupled with the EUs latest decisions on information piracy reflect a trend towards slowly restricting access to internet freebies such as information and material protected by intellectual copyright. Time will tell whether these strategies pay off, or provide fertile ground for new, more aggressive business disruption methods and mechanisms.
The EU decided to propose a law that would terminate internet access to any EU citizen that is accused of downloading software that violates intellectual property rights, without prior legal process. In other words you’re guilty before proven innocent. Paradoxically, last May, the EU parliament decided that every EU citizen has the fundamental right to have access to the internet (universal access) sort of like every Canadian has the fundamental right to have access to universal Medicare. The amendment caused swift reaction from French deputies who reminded the EU parliament (whose deputies seem to have succumbed to the will of the EU
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commission which probably succumbed to some other lobby groups’ will) that similar legislation in France was deemed unconstitutional by the French High Court, and now required a legal process before any citizen is disconnected from internet access (ie. proven guilty before any action taken). The proposed law will apply (if it receives a majority vote in the EU parliament) beginning 2010 which means that the member countries will have about 18 months to embody the law in their national legal framework.
The EU also proposed a new “Telecommunication Package” that includes the following highlights:
• A subscriber can change to a different operator within a day with number portability
• A service contract can have a maximum of two years duration • Service operators must inform NRAs about subscriber information confidentiality violations
• A minimum quality of service must be guaranteed at the signing of any subscriber-service operator service contract.
• NRA position is strengthened with greater independence and a new body called BEREC is created to ensure healthy competition.
• Measured to ensure regional internet broadband access growth
NSN is planning on cutting about 7700 workers from its 64000 strong workforce. This amounts to about 8% of the total workforce and will save NSN about 500M euro per annum up until the end of 2011. This decision marks a second wave of job slashing in the last two years.
The joint venture between Nokia Oyj and Siemens AG in 2008 resulted in about 15% workforce reduction which was a result amongst other things of duplication elimination and product line pruning/rationalization.
NSN market share fell to 20% in the second quarter of 2009 while the equivalent share in 2008 was 26%.
NSN announced an operational loss of 53M euro in the third quarter mainly due to the continuing infrastructure supply war between NSN, LM Ericsson and Huawei Technologies.
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Every once in a while we have the opportunity witness mechanisms of change at work and invoking disruption mechanisms whose after-effects are felt long after. For example, Apple first entered the mobile arena with the iPhone and rather audaciously prohibited subsidies and demanded revenue sharing from Mobile Network Operator (MNO) partners in exchange for iPhone exclusivity. Nonetheless operators eagerly queued at Apple’s doorstep and iPhone became know as ‘the tail wagging the dog’.
Article by : Jason Nikolaou
The latest such bold movement comes from the Machine-to-Machine (aka M2M) industry and its encounters with the telco world. In fact there are two such prominent examples and since they share much in common we can treat both examples as a unique – albeit disruptive – trend which challenges the status quo and re-shuffles the cards regarding the modus operandi of the telecom world.
Amazon recently announced an International version of its e-reader, the Kindle, available from October the 19th. Amazon already offers Kindle’s Wireless connectivity for free -“No monthly wireless bills or commitments”- in a mobile data wholesale agreement with US operator Sprint and preloads its device with an integrated Sprint SIM card. For its international edition Kindle has been equipped with an AT&T SIM card to enjoy the international roaming capability that the ubiquitous GSM & UMTS networks offer. So for a purchase price of $259 customers of Amazon’s Kindle international edition will be able to connect wirelessly for certain content shopping and downloading services -Free-of-Charge – within 100 countries. Further services include access to Wikipedia and for a monthly subscription fee, Newspapers and Magazines. Amazon’s customers can purchase books on Kindle for $9.99 and download them for free wherever they are within 100 specified countries. Essentially what Amazon has achieved, as far as the end user is concerned, is to bypass the international Roaming costs. Amazon has leveraged its volume of sales in an agreement with AT&T to provide connectivity and global roaming at a price that Amazon can afford to offer to its users Free-of-Charge.
On the other hand Garmin the world’s biggest producer of on-board GPS navigation systems has teamed up with KPN to enable them to offer enhanced navigation experience by including ‘Real-time services’. Their latest navigation product ‘nüvi 1690’ will be capable of receiving real time data services such as traffic & weather updates, fuel prices, etc. Mobile data connectivity will be provided by an integrated SIM from KPN. The service will be initially available in 15 countries and for a price of $500 users can enjoy two years of data services and roaming between the 15 countries.
Similar to the Amazon’s example, Garmin has put its weight behind the agreement convincing KPN to provide mobile data connectivity and roaming within 15 countries at a price they can ‘afford’ to give Free-of-Charge to their customers as a service within the price of the product.
These two examples of telco & M2M interaction highlight two important considerations. On the one hand the international Roaming Pricing model seems like a medieval castle under siege. Holding on to and relying on walled gardens and legacy pricing models is unwise, and even cash cows don’t go on producing ‘milk’ for ever. Sooner or later some formidable player (e.g. Amazon or Garmin or the EU) will challenge your pricing policy and force you to change.
Secondly, what both AT&T & KPN have in common - down the value chain of ‘wholesale mobile data & roaming’ – is that they share a common partner. Both have teamed up with Jasper Wireless to provide ‘Connectivity Management Platform’ customized for operation of M2M devices. In effect what both KPN & AT&T have done by collaborating with the third party vendor is to differentiate themselves from the competition and give added value to their offering, making it more appealing for M2M operators. They are not only offering Global Coverage but also flexible billing applications and out-of-the-box services. They have enabled their network to host any M2M operator who can embed pre-activated SIM cards in its devices and through the Connectivity Management Platform running on the host MNO benefit from custom device provisioning, instant activation, real-time diagnostic tools and detailed billing and usage reports.
KPN & AT&T did not just sit and wait for M2M to come along, hoping it would be another success as SMS was in the ‘90s. The operators conscientiously were proactive in choosing the right partner that would allow them to add ‘intelligence’ to their network uplifting them from a bit-pipe type of positioning.
The field of M2M partnership is still green, there may still be growth for those who chose to move and change fast.
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I bought the Samsung LE 32A656ALCD TV about 4 months ago.
About a month ago the screen started “whistling“. The sound resembles something like ghosts in the TV, or a breeze passing through the TV screen.
I called customer support here in Athens and they told me that this sound is usual under normal 32 inch LCD screen operating conditions. I find that hard to believe knowing something about normal operating conditions and bias currents.
I checked some other similar TVs and screen operation was smooth;no sound.
Does anybody know what the problem could be?
The TV is operating under factory preset conditions adapted to the local market.
Palm Beach billionaire and philanthropist Jeffry Picower, described as the biggest beneficiary of Bernard Madoff’s fraud, died on Sunday after he was found lying at the bottom of the pool at his home, police said. Police were investigating the death of the 67-year-old investor as a drowning, local media reported. Picower was pulled unconscious from the pool of his multimillion-dollar oceanside home, called Casa del Sud, by his wife and a housekeeper. He was later pronounced dead, the Palm Beach Post reported quoting police and Fire Rescue officials. Picower and his wife, Barbara, were friends of Wall Street financier Madoff, who is serving a 150-year sentence after pleading guilty to running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme. The trustee handling the Madoff fraud case, Irving Picard, said in court documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York late last month that Picower, newly listed as one of the 400 wealthiest Americans by Forbes magazine, was complicit in the fraud. Part of Picard’s filing said: “Based upon the trustee’s investigation to date, Picower was the biggest beneficiary of Madoff’s scheme, having withdrawn either directly or through the entities he controlled more than $7.2 billion of other investors’ money.” Picower was being sued for the $7.2 billion, $2 billion more than the trustee in the case demanded in May. The Palm Beach Post reported he was not breathing when he was pulled from the pool and paramedics worked unsuccessfully for 20 minutes at the scene to try to revive him. Local WPTV quoted the Palm Beach fire chief as saying he was told by Picower’s wife and housekeeper that the elderly investor had gone swimming in the pool of his house and that 15 minutes later they found him lying at the bottom. Marcia Horowitz, a spokeswoman for the Picowers’ attorney William Zabel, said the family was devastated by the loss. “Mr Picower did have health issues. He suffered from Parkinsons disease and did have heart-related medical issues,” she said.
MADOFF FRAUD DEVASTATED WEALTHY COMMUNITY
Madoff found many investors for his multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme in the wealthy Palm Beach community where he also had a home, since seized along with other assets. The collapse of the scheme last December devastated families and charitable foundations in the sunny beachside playground, one of America’s richest towns. The scandal led to a number of suicides among participating investors. In December, Frenchman Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, co-founder of money manager Access International, was found dead with his wrists slashed, reportedly distraught over losing up to $1.4 billion in client money to Madoff’s fraud. In February, a former British soldier, William Foxton, 65, killed himself after losing his life savings in the scheme. Picower was listed 371st and worth $1 billion on the latest published Forbes list. He started out as an accountant and lawyer and then made money investing in the medical sector. He and his wife headed a philanthropy, the Picower Foundation. The foundation closed when the Madoff fraud unraveled last December. A spokeswoman for Zabel, the Picowers’ attorney, has rejected Picard’s accusations against Picower as “false and outrageous claims … based on a misreading of the purported ‘facts’.” She said the Picowers initiated discussions to reach a settlement with the trustee, who is winding down Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. Picard, who is leading a global search under the Securities Investor Protection Act to recover money for thousands of defrauded investors, has collected about $1.5 billion, but has sued for some $15 billion. The case is Irving H. Picard, trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC v. Jeffry M. Picower 09-01197 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
(Reporting by Pascal Fletcher and Grant McCool, editing by Chris Wilson)
The Dark Press :- You figure he was a Bryan Jones copycat ?
Nokia decided to sue Apple over Iphone patent infringements. Nokia claims that the Iphone architecture is based upon 10 different Nokia patents, technology that is used without any granted permissions from Nokia. The lawsuit was submitted to the Delaware district court and claims that Nokia has granted right of use to about 40 different companies, companies that include a number of major mobile terminal manufacturers. Nokia claims that Apple is NOT one of those manufacturers and the Iphone is not one of those terminals that has been granted the necessary licences to use the Nokia technology.
Apple announced net profit at 1,67 BUSD for its current fiscal year which closed on the 26th of September. The reason for the impressive earnings lies in increased turnover both in its PC and Iphone business segments. This means that Apple’s 4rth term profits are about 47% higher than last year while revenue is up a walloping 25% at 9,87 BUSD.
In June Apple rolled out the 3GS Iphone which it brought to the market at an initial retail price of 99 USD leading to 7, 4 M units been sold between June and September.
Within its overall strategic framework, Apple slashed iPod prices and incorporated the move its overall “back to school” campaign alongside the sales of the popular Apple Mac. Mac sales increased 17% in the quarter while 10,2 M iPods were sold. Apple foresees next quarter earnings between 11,3 BUSD and 11,6 BUSD.
Apple stock value has doubled in the last couple of months, and went up a further 7% in the last 24 hours.
The success of Apple’s overall retail strategy further testifies to the fact that the market for mobile communication devices is showing characteristics similar to those of retail computing markets, and thus requires a different approach as per traditional telecommunication positioning.
In 2008 Microsoft reduced the remuneration of its top management by about 29% and has frozen wages for 2010. The reason is of course the global financial crisis. Microsoft has also announced staff reductions of about 5000 as a response to a slowdown in business for 2009 of about 3% (14,6B USD in 2009, 17,7B USB in 2008).
Nokia announced 559M Euro losses (for the first time in a decade) due to a 20% reduction in mobile handset business caused by consumers’ preference of the AppleIphone rather than the NokiaN97 Smartphone. The latter losses include a one time investment expense towards NSN which further implies that Nokia plans to discontinue any further investment to NSN.
The green revolution is making its way into the mobile communications business (aside from recyclable materials) through sun power cellular phones. Solar cell phones could build on the economic advantages that mobile phones have already brought to far-flung regions of Africa and the Indian subcontinent, including price transparency and more accurate and timely information.
Also, thanks to Intel, Apple and Cisco, broadband mobile communication just became simpler through Wi-Fi Direct. Mobile operators have greeted this concept with reserved enthusiasm, and this puts further pressure on classical telecom infrastructure suppliers who still support in the basic architectures the 80-20% business model (more traffic implies more base stations). Specifically the new technology may impact or render obsolete the present Bluetooth technology. This supports our previous premise that ad hoc networking will eventually become mainstream and will replace the classical 80-20% business model which is still embedded in mobile architectures. And while were on the subject of radio pollution, Asef has issued an open statement warning citizens to restrict their mobile phone (or any other radio propagation based communication device) usage for health reasons. Asef claims that there is still no proof on mobile phone usage is detrimental to one’s health (the technology hasn’t been around, on mass deployment (recall 80 – 20 business model) long enough) but nevertheless recommends that citizens take a prudent approach to mobile phone usage. It goes without saying that one day a Nobel prize will be awarded to the individual or team that discovers a “green” way to telecommunicate wirelessly , a way that does not necessarily increase the medium’s (radio or otherwise) density proportionally to the traffic density requirements.
Finally, Joost seems to have the right idea since all indications show that the market is going towards a converged infrastructure for entertainment and communication. In 1995, genius marketer Scott Zakarin convinced his crew to create a tv series that would be only broadcast through the www. With the advent of IP, fiber optics and better broadband coding techniques communication and entertainment are converging on a common platform and in no time at all we will be using common type of infrastructure and terminals for our entertainment and communication, the terminal resembling our pc, and the infrastructure being the internet (or a close relative).
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Google Inc, Microsoft Corp and Palm Inc stepped up efforts to bolster their smartphone line-ups, as the tech industry’s key players increasingly move to challenge Apple Inc’s popular iPhone.
In a flurry of announcements on Tuesday ahead of the holiday shopping season, the companies introduced new phones, wireless carrier partnerships and efforts to boost the availability of new applications for the phones.
The moves underscore the extent to which the smartphone market has emerged as a prime battleground encompassing a variety of technology businesses and one of the few markets experiencing rapid growth in a rough economic environment.
“Everyone wants to build up and bolster their smartphone portfolio, because that’s what drives more dollars for the carrier and that’s where the market is going,” said Avian Securities analyst Matthew Thornton.
Google, the world’s largest Internet search company, said it was teaming up with Verizon Wireless to co-develop multiple phones based on its Android operating system. They plan to bring two phones to market this year, and Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam said the partnership could result in the introduction of multiple devices per year going forward.
The partnership with Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc, is a boost for Google’s efforts to gain a foothold in the smartphone market.
It caps a string of Android phone announcements, including Motorola Inc’s recent introduction of the Cliq phone and HTC’s Hero phone, slated for U.S. release next week.
Google does not charge a licensing fee for Android but hopes to benefit by serving highly targeted mobile ads to users.
Microsoft, whose software is used in the majority of the world’s PCs, unveiled on Tuesday a new version of its smartphone software, Windows Mobile 6.5, and promised more than 30 new devices with the software would be available in more than 20 countries by year’s end.
According to research firm IDC, smartphones running Microsoft software accounted for 11 percent of the worldwide market in the first half of 2009, compared to 11.7 percent share for Apple’s iPhone and 19.9 percent share for Research in Motion’s Blackberry.
Nokia’s Symbian operating system had the largest share with 46.4 percent share.
IPHONE THE ONE TO BEAT
But analysts say that Apple’s iPhone, despite its modest share of the market, is the product to beat.
“It may not be reflected in the numbers, but everyone is playing catch-up” with Apple, said C.L. King analyst Lawrence Harris.
In addition to the technological innovations ushered in by the iPhone, such as its multi-touch screen, Harris said that Apple is the clear leader when it comes to the software apps created by third-party developers to work with a smartphone.
Apple has 85,000 apps available through its iPhone Apps store.
“The fact that a particular app is available can help drive the purchasing decision,” said Harris.
In a sign of how critical apps have become in the smartphone race, Microsoft also announced the launch of a new marketplace for Windows Mobile applications. And Palm announced it was making its “WebOS” smartphone software more open for outside developers to create applications.
Google said there are more than 10,000 free and paid apps available for Android smartphones.
Verizon Wireless and Google sought to play up the open nature of Android apps compared to the tight control that Apple exercises over its software.
The first Android phones from Verizon Wireless will support the Google Voice software application, which allows consumers to make low-priced international calls and which Apple has yet to approve for its iPhone.
“You either have an open device or not. This will be open and we expect to bring that application to market when we bring the first device out,” said Verizon’s McAdam, referring to Google Voice.
Google has said that Apple rejected Google Voice, while Apple contends it is still evaluating the software, in a high-profile spat that has attracted the attention of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
On Tuesday, AT&T Inc, which has the exclusive rights to the iPhone in the U.S., said it will allow third-party Internet telephone calls to be on the iPhone using AT&T’s third generation network, reversing a previous position to ban such calls due to revenue concerns.
Note also that Verizon’s one of the first to deploy LTE in the Amercas, and the world !
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Sound organization design implies efficient information flow and fluid adaptability to fluctuating market conditions, while simultaneous protection of internal corporate functions.
An organization should not be designed to accomodate corporate personnel. An organization should be designed to bring the corporation closer to the target market. A company that is in touch with dynamic market conditions will succeed, and will employ !
The right organization (which is composed of the right managers) reenforces positively employee motivation by correlating employee instrumentality to high valence organization objectives. Motivated employees are committed employees and committed employees support corporate objectives even during trying times.
Here’s a nice set of slides on fluid corporate communication !
And here’s a rough, simple proposal for a fluid organization :
For the first time, some Eastern non European suppliers have teamed up and are about to become the complete network and services supplier for one of the major local telecom operators. Optical based networks and solution are also under discussion.
This may overshadow the shape of things to come for the rest of Europe.
The major reason for the swap out and break in is a price foulup by the traditional supplier .
Events are beginning to unfold and when completed may set a precedent if not for Europe, at least for the region.
This is an addendum to Paul Krugman’s insightful article “The Climate Cassandras” on environmental economics.
What do Green economics, the digital dividend, digital signatures, e-books and e-readers have in common ?
Depending on a government’s strategy nothing, or everything. If we look at some governments, environmental issues usually fall under the ministry of environment, and the digital dividend (and related communication issues) falls under the ministry of communication, post and transport.
The environment should be the number one priority today. If it does not become the number one priority then were talking about extinction. Don’t believe the crap you hear about technology solving this and technology solving that. At the present rate of change, if the ecosystem goes into a negative spiral we’re gonna be going in a Soylent Green type of mode. Our knowledge will not be at any level to prevent an eventual endogenous extinction level event. It’s just too soon.
So again the environment should be the top priority of all governments. A particular government should forge a strategy that breaks away all Chinese walls that segregate various technologies, and use these technologies in a consistent coordinated way. Today we’re talking about energy preservation systems such as photovoltaic cells, wind generators and hydro electric plants. In addition we’re talking about the digital dividend, e-readers and e-books and e-signatures. First of all we should examine if a particular technology does indeed present an improvement vis-à-vis the older technology. So for example is an e-reader truly more environmental friendly than a traditional book? An e-reader is made from plastic (which comes from hydrocarbons), uses batteries and is so and so energy efficient. A book today can be made from recycled paper, which may originate from trash and old rags (and not trees). A book can be fully recycled. Can an e-reader be fully recycled?
On the other hand a fully electronic office (paperless office including digital signatures; not that simple as per a discussion I had with the head of Silanis a couple of years ago) where we manage to get away from the hydrocarbon base (ie. plastic) and have the same or better plastic type of material generated perhaps from plant life (or totally get away from having a device and somehow use holography to view and process documents) will do wonders when in comes to resource conservation.
The point is that an environmental strategy should itemize, assess, and incorporate under a common umbrella all relevant items (as per our current knowledge) that will drastically help reduce resource consumption and environmental damage. So planting more trees, environmental friendly buildings and cars, telecommunications and e initiatives, energy saving storing and generating technologies etc… should be consolidated under a common strategy and coordinated under an overall project which is aimed at drastically improving/reversing the present environmental decline, as soon as possible.
A notable MBA textbook begins its section on want identification by stipulating that the overall health of our planet is deteriorating, and opportunities will exist for bottled water, medicines, sunglasses and sun shield uniforms and a host of other new business opportunities. Well, if the overall health of the planet continues to deteriorate, and we pursue the marketing process in a Adamsmithian kind of way, yes there will be such opportunities. One opportunity will lead to another and one business will give way to the next, until finally,all businesses will give way to that final great business, the funeral parlor.
Charles Revson said a couple of years ago that “a man has the right to stink as long as the stench does not offend anyone next to him“.
Revlon, Revson’s baby, was the first company that identified the need for male perfumes and deodorants.
-On the other side of town, Tandberg was acquired by Cisco (videohead and all) indicating Cisco’s move up in the services chain (iptv etc..).-
A company has the right to go under even if this company was at one time in the forefront of local communication services, and was known to be first in offering attractive packages and technologies to its subscriber base.
But ok, the company always was in the midst of management turmoil resembling greco-roman wrestling matches and then after the investment funds took over, a bit of this and a bit of that, and after some pepto relief, the former southern european presently northern african company owes a couple of billion euros. And ok, perhaps the fact the debt of the company by years’ end will be about 9 times its EBITDA while EBITDA itself has taken an 18% dive (Belgarion you’re into this accounting stuff;maybe if I provide the figures you can give a qualified assessment).
What ya gonna do ? Ok, so they’ve stopped paying suppliers, downsized in an interesting sort of way, stopped paying some salaries a couple of months now,abandoned their network, and they’re desperately looking for new cash infusions and new management (in other words a buyout;let’s hope that the buyer isn’t in too much debt!) which will do what new management does, get rid of the old management.
What ya gonna do? That’s the environment we’re working in.
I can understand that the co’s in an financial grind. What I don’t understand is why the bills that I, and a number of collegues, are getting have all these billing errors in them? There’s overbilling (never underbilling), and some of the bundled packages that were offered giving discounts in certain services (like a lower monthly fee) are somehow “forgotten” from the bill.
Also, why is it that everytime a particular subscriber tries to change to another operator (the churn rate’s beginning to skyrocket) he meets all this inertia?
And why is it that everytime a particular subscriber cuts her subscription she gets this ugly notice from some lawyer dude about unpaid subscriptions fees, without any hardcopy bill confirming these fees?
And finally, why is it that whenever one goes to a particular shop and and pays her subscription fee, one never gets any change, (if the change is between 1 and 20 cents)?
The only thing that’s accomplished from all this is a dissatisfied customer that will drift to a competitor,a competitor that will use aggressive tactics to capitalize on your deteriorating brand, and alot of pissed off people that will use legal and regulatory action to get justice.
Let’s hope that the winds of change don’t spin outta control and become a self devastating hurricane.
“Wall Street, in these matters, is like a lovely and accomplished woman who must wear black cotton stockings, heavy woollen underwear, and parade her knowledge as a cook because, unhappily, her supreme accomplishment is as a harlot.”
“The Great Crash: 1929“, John Kenneth Galbraith
Reform or Bust -Paul Krugman
In the grim period that followed Lehman’s failure, it seemed inconceivable that bankers would, just a few months later, be going right back to the practices that brought the world’s financial system to the edge of collapse. At the very least, one might have thought, they would show some restraint for fear of creating a public backlash. But now that we’ve stepped back a few paces from the brink — thanks, let’s not forget, to immense, taxpayer-financed rescue packages — the financial sector is rapidly returning to business as usual. Even as the rest of the nation continues to suffer from rising unemployment and severe hardship, Wall Street paychecks are heading back to pre-crisis levels. And the industry is deploying its political clout to block even the most minimal reforms. The good news is that senior officials in the Obama administration and at the Federal Reserve seem to be losing patience with the industry’s selfishness. The bad news is that it’s not clear whether President Obama himself is ready, even now, to take on the bankers.
Credit where credit is due: I was delighted when Lawrence Summers, the administration’s ranking economist, lashed out at the campaign the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with financial-industry lobbyists, is running against the proposed creation of an agency to protect consumers against financial abuses, such as loans whose terms they don’t understand. The chamber’s ads, declared Mr. Summers, are “the financial-regulatory equivalent of the death-panel ads that are being run with respect to health care.”
Yet protecting consumers from financial abuse should be only the beginning of reform. If we really want to stop Wall Street from creating another bubble, followed by another bust, we need to change the industry’s incentives — which means, in particular, changing the way bankers are paid. What’s wrong with financial-industry compensation? In a nutshell, bank executives are lavishly rewarded if they deliver big short-term profits — but aren’t correspondingly punished if they later suffer even bigger losses. This encourages excessive risk-taking: some of the men most responsible for the current crisis walked away immensely rich from the bonuses they earned in the good years, even though the high-risk strategies that led to those bonuses eventually decimated their companies, taking down a large part of the financial system in the process.
The Federal Reserve, now awakened from its Greenspan-era slumber, understands this problem — and proposes doing something about it. According to recent reports, the Fed’s board is considering imposing new rules on financial-firm compensation, requiring that banks “claw back” bonuses in the face of losses and link pay to long-term rather than short-term performance. The Fed argues that it has the authority to do this as part of its general mandate to oversee banks’ soundness. But the industry — supported by nearly all Republicans and some Democrats — will fight bitterly against these changes. And while the administration will support some kind of compensation reform, it’s not clear whether it will fully support the Fed’s efforts.
I was startled last week when Mr. Obama, in an interview with Bloomberg News, questioned the case for limiting financial-sector pay: “Why is it,” he asked, “that we’re going to cap executive compensation for Wall Street bankers but not Silicon Valley entrepreneurs or N.F.L. football players?” That’s an astonishing remark — and not just because the National Football League does, in fact, have pay caps. Tech firms don’t crash the whole world’s operating system when they go bankrupt; quarterbacks who make too many risky passes don’t have to be rescued with hundred-billion-dollar bailouts.
Banking is a special case — and the president is surely smart enough to know that. All I can think is that this was another example of something we’ve seen before: Mr. Obama’s visceral reluctance to engage in anything that resembles populist rhetoric. And that’s something he needs to get over. It’s not just that taking a populist stance on bankers’ pay is good politics — although it is: the administration has suffered more than it seems to realize from the perception that it’s giving taxpayers’ hard-earned money away to Wall Street, and it should welcome the chance to portray the G.O.P. as the party of obscene bonuses. Equally important, in this case populism is good economics. Indeed, you can make the case that reforming bankers’ compensation is the single best thing we can do to prevent another financial crisis a few years down the road. It’s time for the president to realize that sometimes populism, especially populism that makes bankers angry, is exactly what the economy needs.
- The Dark Press : Salesmen get rewarded on short term sales, even if it means loosing long term strategic business. Managers get promoted on their ability to talk, rather that their ability to manage and company share values are usually based on a contiuous stream of income which is judged (and usually far off from what eventually happens) on its short term results. We are a society which judges a book by its cover. Relics such as prudence and patience are nothing more than a subject of epic novels, replaced by daily telenovelitas. Andele !
George Papandreou, the President of Socialist International is now the new Prime Minister of the Hellenic republic.
PASOK demolished the New Democracy party winning 160 seats with a 10% difference. The New Democracy party, the conservative right, reached an all time low of 34% of electorate vote.
The end o’ the world (2012) is gonna have to wait until after the 2016 ’cause were not gonna miss this for the world(didn’t predict that did you, Nostradumass ??) !
By Zeus, we’re gonna be dancin’ some …SSSsssssssssssssssssAMBA!
Greece is a small market. Greece is ranked 2 globally when it comes to mobile growth.
The greek market is an oligopoly insofar as mobile communication is concerned; cosmote/t-mobil, vodafone,windin terms of market share.
Wind has been suffering for some time a cash crunch (due to debt payments) and is desperately seeking refinancing from new investors.
Vodafone smells blood and announces major price cuts and new attractive – according to vodafone -bundled offers/ packages.Vodafone issues a press release saying that it wants to gain market share at all cost, and that it wants to become number one in this market.
Since we’re dealing with an oligopoly such actions are soon followed by the rest of the players. Cosmote will easily meet vodafone’s challenge and perhaps raise the stakes. Wind will….well….whose market share do you think vodafone’s after?
On the other side of things analog tv is slowly being phased out in Greece by command of her majesty the EU, and by 2012 the last analog transmitter will be decomissioned.
There is a strong possibility that information, in the near future, will be stored, managed and maintained in huge information storage facilities.
A particular company will outsource its information needs to one of these facilities, and will not bother with maintaining any storage facilities on site.
This of course implies changes to the IT support facility of the company as to the role of the Chief Information Officer.
These huge storage facilities will of course give strong guarantees of information confidentiality, security, and reliability and will probably also maintain Chinese walls in order to avoid security breeches between corporate accounts.
Of course such facilities require a fair amount of work when it comes to architectures, database modeling and security infrastructure as well as some sort of information component architecture where perhaps the critical components of a company’s information are still maintained within the corporate facilities, and the bulk of the remaining information, information that’s memory consuming but deemed non critical in terms of business and operational performance, within the confines of the storage facility.
Needless to say a lot of work for engineers, computer scientists and lawyers.
Sort of similar to the way electricity is distributed today. In the past each building generated its own power. When the electrical companies were formed, the task of power generation was outsourced to these companies and houses today get their power from these companies. Of course in special cases, onsite backup systems exist to ensure a continuous supply of power when something goes wrong with the shared power network.
Also, when you have independent companies supplying you with something, there’s always danger of speculative activity as the state of California found out when stockbrokers and Enron companies were selectively cutting power grids in order to offer power to the state at premium rates. But then that’s why we have government and regulatory bodies.
Speaking of crime, we were informed of a shooting rampage in the Mexico City subway. Evidently this guy was spray painting statements against the government. When the cops tried to stop him, he started shooting at them. After killing two policemen he hid in a subway train. The police finally nabbed him. I wonder if he’ll ever make it to trial?
Sad thing to see crime out of control in one of the most enchanting capitals of the world, a place where Maria Callas gave one of her last concerts.
Let’s talk about that part of the economic surplus that’s attributed to the mobile communication industry.
If we focus on Europe, in the past a good portion of this surplus went to those that supplied the various elements that were required to provide such a service : manufacturers, suppliers, sub contractors, retailers etc… The service was defined by premium prices and service providers were few. Then competition on the service side (more operators;new ways of communicating like internet communication) and supply end (more suppliers; say from the far east) started coming in. In addition regulatory measures ensured that a good portion of this surplus was allocated to the consumer through lower phone charges, for example when it came to global roaming, fixed to mobile, mobile to mobile etc…
So classical service provider revenue started going down (mostly willingly through attractive packages, free SMS, free voice minutes etc…) and the squeeze (since shareholders still expected returns even though a lot of these shareholders are mobile customers who want lower prices per minute, but higher share prices) was carried along the value chain including supplier price squeezing etc.. Now all this did not result in any change in the social surplus; the wealth redistribution and the necessary changes brought about a new industry equilibrium; in other words above normal profits started becoming normal profits. As a matter of fact, regardless of who had a bigger piece of the surplus, society benefited as whole from all aspects including financial (a new source of investment wealth), health (mobile e-health), business (e-commerce), socializing, and security (your car broke down on 635 E from Forth Worth to Dallas at 3 AM; mobile 911 with location based services etc…). Sure, some contracts were renegotiated but so what? Employment was steady if not increasing and service continued to improve !
Indeed mobile communication made our lives better.
In some countries, it even resulted in much better fixed phone service.
The coming of the crisis meant a major change in economic surplus.
Wealth was destroyed and the telecom sector suffered in all areas (the world economy suffered but we’re limiting our discussion to the mobile communication arena). A number of players from all parts of the value change started having economic and viability problems, and unemployment increased a lot!
The Greek government yesterday decided to slap an extra 12% tax (in addition to the existing 19%) on prepaid cards . This means that a prepaid user will get hit with a 31% tax. Prepaid mobiles are heavily used in this part of the world and mostly by low income groups.
This tax revenue will be used to pay current debt on badly negotiated bonds, band financial management and general economic chaos. In other words the income received will not go towards future wealth, but rather to pay in part for blunders of the past. It’s like selling a piece of property that you could’ve given to your kids, to pay for debts amassed from past pleasures.
Now ARPU (Average Revenue per User) is already on the way down. If I look at my phone charges, for the reasons mentioned above, I can tell you that in the past my bill was about say 120 euro per month; now it barely reaches 18. As stated earlier, this price erosion did not have any major effects on the industry since it was a redistribution of the social surplus. Contracts were renegotiated, profits were made normal, investments continued and employment was stable. The crisis did have a major impact on the communication industry as it did in all industries. When you proceed to slap a two digit tax on a particular service thinking that this service is price insensitive at a time when unemployment is expected to peak at 2010, with the goal of plugging up financial holes then you’re endangering a reverse spiral; more unemployed which will bring less consumption which will bring more unemployed. And since you’re not taking any steps for future wealth, you’re talking about long term havoc.
In an number of presentations and executive seminars regarding network evolution, references are made to ambient networks. This site has received a number of questions about what an ambient network is. We refer you to this excellent paperby Dr. Andreas Schieder, a former collegue at Ericsson (and with whom I had the pleasure of cohosting a number of presentations), which can help answer some of the questions regarding this very exciting research area.
- Antonis Hontzeas
click the pic for free Long Term evolution ebook download
It’s easy to to adopt the policy of avoiding risk at all costs, that whenever possible, the products you launch or the engagements you have should be flawless and without downside.
Here’s the problem: in most endeavors, a small increase in risk can double the reward. It’s the second doubling of reward that brings serious risk with it. But the first leap is relatively painless.
In the chart above, notice that going from point A to point B brings almost no incremental risk. It might feel scary, but rationally, it’s not. Doubling reward again from B to C, though, brings significant incremental risk. It’s this second doubling that gets you through the Dip, that leads to a breakthrough, that makes you remarkable.
But I’m not even talking about that. I’m just hoping you’ll warm up by making the tiny leap of avoiding all risk. Riskless is hardly worth your effort.
The current financial crunch has taken a heavy toll on today’s business environment and has forced corporations to seek nontraditional ways of minimizing costs while concurrently maximizing productivity and general efficiency. One of the heaviest contributors to total fixed costs is of course office space.
Most people commute or drive to work eventually making their way to some sort of permanent working space whether it’s an office or a desk. For an office worker, typical deskwork includes processing documents, emails and phone communication, while daily interactions with co-workers take place through scheduled or ad hoc meetings in fixed meeting rooms or other building areas. Dealings with customers and suppliers is done through fixed building assets including communication and computing devices as well as meeting areas (your or the customer’s office; your or the customer’s conference rooms). Managing the warehouse (if you’re unlucky to have one) is of course another burden that translates to a fixed cost (add to that the inventory costs; if your forecasts were misaligned with market realities then you have quite a situation). Your general building costs which are always reflected in your Year to Yield and annual income statements are in the short term independent of your business reality and are thus always present whether you’re in business, or quietly going out of business.
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Mobile communication networks are moving to a common ip based transport technology that will eventually offer ubiquitous coverage, smooth interaction between different standards (connected anytime, anyplace) converged communication services (the same service adapted to your location and whether you are on the go or sitting somewhere) supported by a common network . This means for the operator reduced operation (opex) expenses (common infrastructure, common serviced and reduced operation and maintenance costs), implying a better price tag on offered services.
Fixed office functionality is slowly expanding to the mobile environment through a host of new applications (ex. wireless whiteboards), stronger communication devices (ex. Nokia E series smart phones, Blackberries, iphones and android platforms etc…), adapted products and solutions (ex. Microsoft office (mobile),Sybase ianywhere, Unified Communications mobile solution, Automobile office technologies etc…) and increased access bandwidths (for ex. HSPA+,Long Term Evolution, Mobile WiMax etc…).
Ubiquitous radio access converged with the fixed phone system means that you can start your work day at home or at your preferred location and move as required without disrupting the workflow. You can process all your documents remotely (emails, proposals, tenders, offers) through your company’s vpn , make and receive calls while stationed or on the go, book teleconferences at home or in your car (while taking all necessary traffic precautions) and agree to meet with customers in cafes, posh restaurants or classy hotel lounges. Of course airline bookings and hotel reservations are already a gas with web bookings and e-tickets and can easily be managed from a mobile office.
Support of backoffice applications such as CRM and ERP is taken for granted and just in time deliveries and mobile tracking systems can vastly improve your inventory management and reduce, if not eliminate warehouse requirements.
World Economic realities imply that financial efficiencies and corporate streamlining will continue to be a predominant force in the next couple of years. Luckily enough communication technology is progressing at such a rate, that if present mobility trends continue, the mobile office will become indispensible factor of day to day business, resulting in improved productivity and rendering fixed office costs a thing of the past. Finally a fully mobile working environment will enhance economic efficiency through reduced frictional unemployment, since relocation will no longer be an employment condition.
Starting Jan 2010 the EU will invest about 18M euro for R+D into 4th generation mobile broadband communication networks.
Mme Reding stipulated that LTE will continue the European tradition of dominance in the mobile communication field that was started about 25 years ago with GSM.
Note that the cellular concept (which is what GSM and LTE are based upon) started from a couple of patents from Motorola and AT&T. Then Motorola and AT&T engaged each other in a court based civil war that lasted about 10 years, relinquishing a good portion of the market to European companies like LM Ericsson. The major breathrough in America came when the European TDMA proposal (spearheaded by Ericsson) became the default standard for digital cellular (as opposed to ATT backed FDMA), a standard that also formed the foundation of GSM access (the equivalent American standard is referred to as AMPS/DAMPS). GSM, aside from being state of the art, became an industrialized and fully standardized network easily allowing economies of scale, quick deployment and easy adaptation to market needs, and of course a roadmap allowing the market to see its evolution. From then on Europe
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took command of mobile communication development. GSM slowly made its way to America with Cingular deploying a coast to cost network.
From 2004 to 2007 the EU funded (with about 25 M euro) research into the improvement and standardization of LTE through the WINNER I and II programs which involved numerous telecom companies and research centers.
Initial LTE networks are currently (or scheduled to be) running in Finland, Germany, Norway, Spain Sweden and the UK. Verizon has also scheduled LTE deployment in its network.
Of course one major issue in all this is the still continuing problem of site acquisition. The initial concept was developed with the 80/20 business model where 80 percent of the business came from 20 percent of the customers. In other words few base stations and substantial revenue. Today we have many base stations and deteriorating revenue (and hopefully no future health issues). Clearly the cellular concept is reaching its limits;people are beginning to complain about all these base stations, while higher propagation frequencies require more base stations. On the other hand you have my neighbour “free riding” his access to the internet (ie. he’s using a “leaky” WiFi channel paid by some other household to gain free access to the WWW). So this kind of gives you thoughts about changing the whole mobile communication concept into some sort of ad hoc network where in population dense areas the mobile terminals use each other to help communicate with a central receiver/transmitter, and you only use direct base station to terminal communication in sparse areas where there are no, or too few active communication terminals. This means a substantial reduction of base stations in areas where base stations are a real problem (ie. cities).Some food for thought.
“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”
Henry Ford
In order to be successful with anything , you have to know who you are (Socrates : Know thyself) and you have to know what you want (Vision). The intermediate process is called a strategy which consists of a gap analysis (what we need to get from where we are to where we are going) and different tactics and scenarios on how to get there.
This applies for individuals, companies and countries and history and experience has shown that all are interrelated.
A country has to have an understanding of its capabilities, and has to have a vision of what it wants to be and by when. A country that has no such vision is characterized by short term measures both in its internal and foreign policy, and leaves an overall impression of unreliability. Such a country is usually characterized by short term measures and usually succumbs to foreign interests in the long term.
Companies that are and want to remain successful also need to have a
Oh my God, there's two of them !
strong understanding of their core skills, and a vision of where they are headed. A company’s performance in the local and world market depends strongly on where the company is located. A country’s bad reputation in one or another area may tarnish a company’s image in that area. If a particular company excels in telecommunication products, but the country it resides within is not considered competitive in that area, then it is in the best interests of the company to move to a country that includes telecommunications in its competitive advantage portfolio.
Unemployed and lovin' It !
In 2000 Deutsche Telekom made a bid for Telecom Italia. The merger attempt eventually failed with one of the reasons being that, according to some, there would’ve been a difficulty in merging a Southern European with a Northern European corporate culture. DT ’s later acquisition proved that this wasn’t so, and that perhaps there were other non corporate reasons. Then Pirelli bought Telecom Italia and when it attempted to sell it to non Italian interests, the government of Romano Pronti moved in and stopped the attempt. Some may question Pronti’s actions as interfering with market operations. Some may state that the market should regulate itself. The market can indeed regulate itself. It did in the 30s and resulted in a new equilibrium that was fine for some people, but that also resulted in large unemployment. If employment is not a key ingredient in a particular nation’s/government’s quality parameters, then such self correction activity should indeed be allowed (of course that didn’t turn out too well for the Romanovs, Rasputin or no Rasputin, but human memory is indeed short). If employment is an important factor, then government intervention to regulate the self regulating market economy is a must. Maybe that’s what the Italians, who (as their Roman predecessors) are masters of strategy, had in mind when they salvaged Telecom Italia. At that time their telecom industry was considered an important ingredient/parameter in Italia’s strategic evolution, and they acted accordingly.
Lack of vision and strategy means lack of faith in the long term and encourages a culture of quick profits eventually leading a nation, a company, and an individual towards oblivion.
A country must first understand and accept its identity, then attain a vision of what it wants to become and by when, and then agree on a survival strategy. Once this is done then everything else starts to fall into place including proper education, vital industries, and appropriate economic models.
Some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world…BURN.
Ok first I’ll select a working platform, say eBay.
Then I’ll buy whole lotta stuff, say airline tickets.
I’ll position these items at various accounts in eBay, or at eBay affiliate sites (otherwise known as site Brokers).
Now I have to sell the stuff and I’m gonna need some finesse, some smarts, some luck and some tools.
Now I have to see what the competition is doing, and maybe copy their success onto my sites. One such way is to check out what “hot” words they are using and emulate them.
Obtaining hot keywords is good because you can incorporate the keywords into your item page and because you get a window into what merchandise sells and what sells NOT. In other words you’re using competitive intelligence to see what SEO ingredients your competitors are using thus allowing you to chart your course.
You can thus incorporate your competitors’ success into your business strategy. This includes profiting from pay per click (PPC) since most PPCs depend on SEO which itself depends on metadata which depend on the right tags or keywords.
So yes, this can be considered a form of online competitive intelligence.
What about ethics?
Well it depends on how you do it; if you do corporate espionage then perhaps there is an ethics problem; If you’re doing it the slick way then you gain a competitive business advantage (required for any business). As Admiral Ellis Zacharias once noted, you can get most competitive intelligence info from every day commonly available sources.
You just have to know where to look and how to interpret it.
Rupert Murdoch has been vocal lately about locking up (by 2010) his online news sites.
“Good press comes at a price” sez the news mogul.
He’s also lobbying other news publishers with the goal of leaving online users little option but to pay for online news.
Of course these innovative thoughts could backfire.
First of all when you give something for free, its difficult to later put a price tag on it. Secondly even if he and his friends do close up the sights, some other newbie will come around and give the same offering for free. I mean when local newspaper prices started going up, here came Big George Kyrtsos and offered his City Press and Free Sunday editions for free (ad based revenue model). They became one of the hottest selling items in the local news domain. Then suddenly prices started coming down again but too late, he had established his market share.
Remember that journalists are in reality brokers, like real estate agents. The act as intermediaries between a source/supply (raw news) and demand. Of course some reporters add value by taking this raw supply and adding insight. This insight may be purposely directed through some upper force, or may be downtoearth honest insight by the reporter (rare, very rare..) to help her audience digest the raw information. For example one of the greatest reporters of all time, Michael MacClear (an honor to journalism) added valuable insight at a time when things where never black or white, but shades of grey (we don’t seem to have many such reporters today…).
So going back to our original tune, if Big Rupert closes up his sites, you can expect competition to offer free information; in other words such actions would be a general strategic blunder on behalf of Ruppy and the results are sure to make their way into future MBA case studies.
Murdoch owns more than 100 newspapers (including the Wall Street Journal) and various TV stations around the world. Murdoch’s news empire is currently in the red at about 3,4 billion USD.
If Murdoch’s strategy works (if he goes ahead and implements it; it seems that he’s presently on the hunt for feedback and ideas so go ahead and comment) then some of that red may turn to black. If not then the mistake may cost him a good portion of tomorrow’s online market.
new through journalists is in reality a brokerage business,sort of like real estate brokerage. They sell information that you can’t go and get yourself ie. they are the intermediaries between the supply and the demand.
Spent a week in Lefkada. Great food (fish mostly) cheap prices good service.
Then I took of and spent 1 1/2 weeks in Pilion. Whilst on my way to the hotel I ran into a Centaur; the “gentlehorseman” invited me to join him in watching the Panathinaikos – Atletico soccer game, but I politely
girls playing backgammon (tavli)
declined stating that I already knew what the result would be; Atletico would kick Panathinaikos’ ass since Atletico played collectively like a team (even though it has a strong star lineup) while Panatinaikos has great players who leave much to be desired insofar as a team spirit goes. The Centaur took a fit and we proceeded to wrestle; I managed to jui jitsu (Belgarion : Shomenei…) his arm and before his hind legs could get me, I ran to the car and sped off. Needless to say I took another road on the way to return to Volos.
Pilio was excellent;I stayed at a very good place with excellent service (if you wanna know which place send a mail to edinpress as per above) and the service was generally very good with good prices. Parking was a definite problem though!
From Volos I spotted a couple of rides and ended up for a couple of days in KEA where Iwas gonna give some execs a rev up on LTE and what I see as coming after LTE (you’re gonna have to wait for that one Hecklesson Porgies since this is still considered confidential and not quite yet in the hands of industry;hint;ad hoc nw). Anyway the luncheon was cancelled and I ended up drinking late at night with an Italian, a Brit, a Frenchman and some dude from Aruba. They weren’t interested in LTE but they asked me if I could pull some strings so they can get a licence to dive and check some things out with the Britannic.
It will be remembered that HRMS Britannic (the sister ship of HRMS Titanic) acted in WW I as a hospital ship supporting Churchill’s disasterous campaign in the Dardanelles. Even though the government of Elefterios Venizelos who knew the area well (since he after all pushed the Ottoman’s back to Asia) warned Churhill not to engage in the campaign, Churchill went ahead anyway (sort of like the Norwegian Iron Coast)thus decimated his imperial forces.
Anyway,they wanted to see if the ship had been torpedoed or whatever.
I told them torpedo my kazoo !
The Britannic like the Titanic I stipulated sank because of man’s (ladies pardon the masculine;I fully include you in this) arrogance in the same way that Capaneus’ arrogance forced Almighty Zeus to thunderbolt him into a cloud of smoke (Capaneus climbs the Theban gates and screams that not even Zeus can stop him from taking the city;well Zeus stopped him. The Titanic it will be remember was labelled as “unsinkable”. Well, it sank and it sank hard !).
Anyway I left before the divers managed to get the licence but I am anxiously awaiting news from them and some fotos of the said ship which I will indeed, after permissions, post.
Here’s three things you need to do to live a happy and healthy life (as per the wise Centaur and the drunk divers) :
1. Eat properly (a mediterranean diet is a good start)
2. Work out (this includes both physical and mental ie. education, reading etc…)
3. Take everything with a grain of salt (don’t get to sad, don’t get to happy, moderation in everything) and think things out (with your head, not your heart).
Who knows, after a couple of healthy years you’ll end up looking like him:
Arsonist have struck again, following the same strategy as they did in 2007 setting multiple fires in geographically remote regions, thus aiming to disperse the country’s firefighting force and render its effort fruitless.
Fires are currently raging all over the country and notably in Corinth and Attica.
In Attica, fires are predominantly located in the North East region mainly in the areas of Dionysos, Stamata, Marathon and Barnabas. The township of Dionysos has been evacuated and order has been given for the children’s hospital of Penteli to immediatly begin evacuation since the Dionisos fires are making their way towards Pendeli; the Marathon fires are making their way towards Nea Makri, threatening the townships of Pikermi and Gerakas.
This arson attack is considered the worst in the country’s history and the fires are currently (aided by the strong winds (Meltemia) that usually visit Greece in August) out of control.
We’ll keep you posted.
23 aug.2009
fires have decimated Sasi, Grammatikos and are currently spreading to Pallini; fires are also threatening the residential area of Agios Stefanos.Cinders from the “burnt offerings” are making their way to the posh Northern Athenian townships of Brilissia, Melissia and Agia Paraskevi and Mount Pendeli is no longer visible from those areas (due to the heavy smoke).
The event : This intoxicated British dude comes on to a Cretan girl. She dodges politely his advances but he persists to the point where he tries to slip his hand down her pants. The lady takes a fit, empties the bottle of Sambuca she had on the table over the British guy, and summarily sets him on fire with her lighter. Needless to say the bloke ends up in the hospital and the fiery lady in the hands of police.
This, according to both Greek and British witnesses was a clear case of sexual harassment.
Judging from the Mayan legend, Kukulkan was either some Atlantinian that had to leave his people (the Mayas) to prepare for the ensuing war with Athens, or some lost Greek Captain/Philosopher returning from the war with Troy. I mean KuKulcan had the ability to change from human to serpent and back again. Do you suppose that Cadmus (the founder of Thebes and husband to Harmonia in whose wedding all the gods were invited as guests) mayhap paid the Mayans a visit (recall that the founder of Athens, Erechtheus was also part serpent) and then quickly returned to Thebes to help Atlantis wage war against Thebes’ eternally sworn enemy, Athens? Well if he did both Atlantis and Thebes lost miserably even though almighty Zeus was tipping the scale in their favor (women have a way of winning wars so Athena and Hera played their part well). Cadmus nevertheless ruled Thebes for a very long time and he and his wife Harmonia were rewarded by the gods with eternal life and were transformed to sacred worshipful entities (the Pelasgic influence to the newly arrived Greeks that tended, like all IndoEuropeans to worship celestial divinities).
Of course all the Maya/Ulmec alludations to the sea, in their legends and pyramid inscriptions could be symbolic, and the sea may actually be outer space. If that is the case the Kukulkan may have been a spaceman with very human features (the maya legends describes him as blond and blue eyed and with an eliptoid kinda head;Mayan mothers use to implement some sort of cast on their newborn’s head in order to get it to form an elipse, something that the Spanish frowned upon). Or maybe it was just the devil paying the Mayas a visit after having blown away Adam and Eve. Anyway, these features gave the Spanish a strategic advantage since the Mayas and Aztecs initially thought the the Catalans represented the return of their blonde god. BIG MISTAKE !
Regardless, I’m gonna have to go back to Yucatan one of this days and finish the work I started.
For now, off on a cruise to the lovely Ionian Islands to ponder of these and other such things.
One the one side Ericsson made and won? a killer bid for Nortel (good move ol’ LM – Let’s see what NSN comes up with); and while the dogfight’s on we’ll see how the Chinese respond (you know in the Balkan Wars while Greece and Bulgaria were fighting it out, Romania marched into Sofia without a gunshot fired…you catch my drift?).
On the other side of the user plain :
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc have agreed to an online search and advertising partnership, in an attempt to rival Google Inc, that will be announced within 24 hours, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.
Microsoft will not pay an upfront fee to Yahoo, and the focus of the deal is on sharing revenue between the two companies, said the source, who did not want to be identified because a formal announcement has not been made.
The news and details of the expected deal were first reported by the AllThingsDigital blog and Advertising Age.
Microsoft and Yahoo declined comment. The two companies have talked for months about cooperating in the online advertising market, dominated by Google.
Microsoft tried to buy Yahoo last year but its $47.5 billion bid was rebuffed and Yahoo’s attempt to seal a search advertising deal with Google Inc fell apart under regulatory scrutiny.
Under the expected deal, Microsoft’s new Bing search engine will power Yahoo’s searches, according to Advertising Age, while Yahoo will handle the advertising sales, using Microsoft technology.
The deal should give Bing a giant boost in competing with Google’s search engine. Google’s search engine dominates the marketplace with 65 percent of U.S. Internet searches, according to figures provided by research firm ComScore. Last month, Microsoft had only 8.4 percent of the market and Yahoo 19.6 percent.
There is a chance a deal combining the powers of the second and third-ranked search engine companies would be blocked by antitrust regulators. Google and Yahoo dropped plans for an advertising partnership last year under opposition from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Shareholders of both Microsoft and Yahoo have been urging the two to strike a deal for some time. Earlier this month, activist investor Carl Icahn, who owns about 5 percent of Yahoo and is a director on its board, spoke out in favor of a search deal, as talks between the two companies appeared to regain momentum.
Shares of Yahoo traded at $17.39 in after-hours trading after closing at $17.22, while shares of Microsoft rose to $23.51 in after-hours trading from their close of $23.47.
(Reporting by Bill Rigby and Alexei Oreskovic, writing by Tiffany Wu; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Carol Bishopric)
Here’s a lesson for you nuncle (taught at a popular MBA class in some part of the world):
A Russian billionaire visits a remote Greek island that has just past a couple of months of bad weather. Needless to say tourism in the island has been at an all time low and there’s simply no cash to go around; everyone on the island is in debt.
The Russian dude visits the classiest hotel, puts 100 euro on the counter and asks the hotel owner to show him around the island. The hotel owner takes the 100 euro and orders the bellboy to take the Russian on a tour.
The hotel owner quickly rushes to the local butcher and gives him the 100 euro thus paying off past accumulated debt due to meat purchases. The butcher then runs to the meat wholesaler and gives him the 100 euro thus paying off all past accumulate debt. The wholesaler rushes off to the meat producer, the only bachelor in the island, and gives him the 100 euro thus eliminating his debt to the producer.
The producer runs to the local brothel and submits his 100 euro to the Madame of the good house thus eliminating debt for services past rendered.
The Madame take her cabriole Volks and drives off to the classy hotel that started this chain reaction (or multiplication effect), and submits the 100 euro she owed the hotel for the rooms she used in the past to offer her services.
The Russian and bellboy return and the Russian states that the island won’t do and demands his 100 Euros back. The hotel owner gladly obliges and returns to the Russian his 100 euro and everyone is happy.
Notice how a single 100 resolved all debt and eventually made its way back to the original issuer. This is the importance of liquidity and this is why governments and banks are rushing to “oil” the system with cash.
Any robust management system has built in grievance handling provisions. These grievance handling mechanisms are usually independent of the management body and have the chief role of safeguarding the corporation from systemized detrimental principle agent problems (old boys’ networks and golden boy cliques). In other words, the grievance handling mechanism introduces an independent communication channel that allows employees and managers to anonymously voice their opinion and concerns. In the past such channels helped bring to light various issues including dubious business practices. If used properly unofficial communication channels protect a company and its shareholders in the same way as official ones, if not more.
The same principles apply to government and society. The ability to anonymously communicate via some form of media or communication channel (which implies the use of a communication device be it a fixed or mobile terminal) implies an unofficial grievance communication channel.
Many individuals will abuse such channels and use them for the purposes of reputation damage and blackmail. The individuals who make a career out of such practices have used in the past other channels (usually official) and have experienced positive reinforcement.
In ancient Athens, the night before the Sicilian expedition, sycophantic activity resulted in the castration of religious statues. One explanation for this was that a group of citizens who were against the expedition had no other channel to voice their complaints and reverted to such activity. Another explanation was that the activity was perpetrated by Alcibiades’ enemies in order to discredit him. Since there was never any root cause analysis performed by the Athenians on these actions, any conclusions are pure speculation. What we do know is that the civil war started a chain reaction that eventually led to the collapse of a great civilization. What we also know is that during the Assembly sessions everyone agreed with General Alcibiades (Groupthink[1]) so disagreement was basically a “behind the scenes” affair[2].
Perhaps sycophantic activity as well as other anonymous complaints should be made the subject of study, and some sort of correlation should be sought between the activity and how much the official grievance channels (i.e. the system) actually work; how much faith the population has in the system. In addition the content of this activity (as well as any other information and complaints arising from anonymous channels) should also be studied with the goal of identifying improper procedures and corrupt business or political practices. Usually such practices can only be uncovered through unofficial channels since the official channels are controlled by the individuals that may be implicated in these practices.
As Winston Churchill noted, all information is important especially raw information stemming from uncontrolled unfiltered channels (ex: unregistered mobile terminals and other access devices anonymously posting to social media and other forums) and any robust management (or social) system should have access to such channels. Information from unofficial channels should be studied instead of cancelled. Such channels allow management (and government) a view into a whole different information universe, and provide a hazard shield against parasitic activity such as Groupthink.
Protecting society from mal intent is everyone’s responsibility.
Pretending that an issue does not exist by muffing the medium is the same thing as an Ostrich sticking its head in the ground when confronted by danger. Individuals choose anonymous channels to voice their opinions chiefly because they do not have faith in the official communication channels. If these unofficial channels are removed, some individuals may choose other not necessarily peaceful routes to express their discontent.
[1] When everyone in a committee agrees with the strong man, or the charismatic one. Renders decision committees and management teams useless.
[2] The theatre also presented another unofficial channel of dissent. Euripides’ Trojan Women criticized heavily Athens’ conduct towards her allies. The fact that the play was allowed right before the Sicilian Expedition reflects the soundness of Athenian democracy at the time.
Unstructured data; Those two words alone cause turmoil to business practices and render decision makers nervous especially when the monumental amount of customer related information (from all channels, including the Web) comes into play. In fact, the story goes that over 80% of the world’s data is unstructured, and businesses are indeed suffering.
From low online conversions and high abandonment rates, declining loyalty and an inability to react to feedback and customer sentiment quickly enough, it’s all a big, virtual mess. There are certainly tools on the rise that attempt to remedy the issue, but many fail in truly connecting with and acting on information across the enterprise. The ones that succeed have in common various ingredients as we will see below.
The Approach
The approach that will ultimately achieve the goal of properly extracting meaning from all forms of mined text, rich media, video and audio is many times referred to as “meaning based marketing”. The resultant extracted and rationalized information will then be plugged into over 500 functions that help marketers improve the experience for their customers.
The approach must necessarily have its roots in any mashup of data which will require an ability to understand the meaning behind the many forms of information with focus on optimizing online business performance. This interpretation of information will form the foundation of deriving meaning from the same information, meaning that will be used as input in any strategic marketing endeavor.
In addition, successful interpretation of the derived data will provide an order of magnitude increase in the amount and types of information that can be leveraged, as well as the ability to interpret the meaning and act on that information. These next-generation solutions will transform how organizations manage customer interaction and multi-channel marketing, enabling both the business and the customer to reach a far greater desired outcome.
The Requirements:
Any approach towards proper interpretation of mined data will consist of the following requirements:
Detect and Act on Customer Sentiment: Businesses should be able to identify key trends or customer sentiments emerging through blogs, twitter posts, or social networking sites. That information can be used to build a conceptual profile, and immediate action in response to a problem or to capitalize on an opportunity is expected to follow.
Rapidly Segment and Optimize Customer Interactions: The technology used shall automatically create relevant audience segments and build on these meaning-based profiles over time in order to target customers and optimize interactions
Organize Analyze, and Maximize Rich Media: Most customers are today familiar with rich media. Solutions for understanding and cataloguing video, audio, and rich media assets and classifying those assets for targeting and optimization will be available.
Understand and Link the Meaning behind Every Customer Touch point: The required tools will organize, understand, and scale the constantly growing amount of information that exists in structured and unstructured systems today, including social media, chat, print, email, call center, customer databases, mobile, and other forms of information.
Automatically Archive Websites and Dynamic Web Pages: corporate websites and transactions will be automatically archived and audited to comply with regulations
The Aspiration:
THE RAPIDLY EMERGING FIELD OF knowledge discovery has grown significantly in the past few years. This growth is driven by a mix of daunting practical needs and strong research interest. The technology for computing storage has enabled people to collect and store information from a wide range of sources at rates that were, only a few years ago, considered unimaginable. Although modern database technology enables economical storage of these large streams of data, we are now only beginning to develop technologies that will help us analyze, understand, and visualize this stored data, and truly bring order from chaos.
Leadership : Karajan Conducting Beethoven (Allegretto 7th Symphony) or FurtWegler conducting the 5th (he gets up on the podium,crosses his arms, looks at the Berliner Philarmonic, blinks, and…pa pa pa paaaaaaaam, the first movement begins).
Divinity : The Allegretto itself (only God could’ve inspired Beethoven to write such an Allegretto; as a matter of fact creations such as Beethoven, Bach or Phideas could’ve only been conceived by The Divine).
Confidence : Babe Ruth calling the shot in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, held on 1 October 1932 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
The concept of bounded rationality, introduced by Herbert Simon, sheds light into the various parameters that affect management decision making and human decision making in general, especially when it comes to purchase decisions.
The whole point is that rational thought is limited by several factors, including irrational ones. This is where many decision based models, including utility concepts in economics and win win negotiation scenarios fail. These models use as their underlying foundation that humans are rational entities similar to Mr. Spock. Anyone that has worked in a company, tried to sell or buy real estate or dealt with government officials realizes, within the frame of his/her bounded rationality, that things aren’t that simple and quite often (nay, very often) the said models fail.
Here’s a nice little description of bounded rationality (from :changingminds.org)
Bounded Rationality
We are, to some extent, rational beings in that we will try to logically understand things and make sensible choices.
However, the world is large and complex, and we do not have the capacity to understand everything. We also have a limited time in which to make decisions.
As a result, our decisions are not fully thought through and we can only be rational within limits such as time and cognitive capability. Herbert Simon indicated that there were thus two major causes of bounded rationality:
Limitations of the human mind
The structure within which the mind operates
This impacts decision models that assume us to be fully rational. For example when calculating expected utility, you may be surprised to find that people do not make the best choices.
Example
I choose a new hi-fi system based on reading a few magazines and listening to several friends. When the sales person offers me a better bargain, I still turn it down.
So what?
Using it
Either play within the bounds of rationality by giving the other person few choices and limited criteria, or break their existing bounds by showing how these are ineffective (then help them set up cognitive camp elsewhere).
Defending
When you make a decision, pause to reflect whether what seems rational is adequate. As necessary, test your decision with other people. Do not be hurried into a decision by others.
Since we’ve received a number of questions (about 484) about the LTE ebook, we are pleased to announce that the ebook will be released on this site on July 30th. It will be available for free download.
Pass on the good word and Be there or be square !Click on the book and download it !!!!
Rumours have it that Big Bill Gates is interested in purchasing the Golden Greek’s (Aristotle Onassis) Ionian island of Scorpiosnext to Lefkada.
There are some entanglement issues with inheritance and Olympic Airways entitlements, but just the fact that Gates was in the area a couple of days ago has speculation brewing and property prices skyrocketing.
Well, it seems that dead or alive, Big Telly can still make money.
YouTube’s rumored (again) to be in a financial black hole. It could be true, it could be overblown, it could be false and it could be spread by the competition.
If its true and if the situtation deteriorates, we may eventually be questioning the whole advertising based revenue model that was initially brought about by tv and radio, and adopted by the internet. Or it may just be that there’s too many applications in the inet, and the natural order of things is taking its clean out effect. Fewer applications means more subscribers means a sellers market which eventually means subscription fees.
BTW, now that the pirate bay’s sold, we may be seeing a change in climate in the whole “free internet” thing.
Michael Jackson’s sudden death spread at a geometric viral rate, and (cfr. Akamai’s news net usage index) and caused server outages everywhere.
For example, Google News had to temporarily block all “Michael Jackson” search requests since the systems incorrectly thought they were under a “denial of service” attack .
The problem was patched by Google through a temporary block, but other sites, including Jackson’s official website and London’s O2 concert venue, where Jackson was set to kick off his 50-date come back tour next month, weren’t so lucky.
Also, Michael Jackson’s Wikipedia page had to be locked down after users accessed it over 1 million times in less than an hour.
Twitter’s site activity almost tripled as millions of users tweeted real time information of Jackson’s arrival at the hospital, rumors of a coma and eventually confirmation of his death. As a result of all the extra traffic, Twitter’s Fail Whale error page made multiple unwanted cameos on Thursday and Friday.
Online retailers (similar to store outlets when Elvis died) profited from the madness and sales of his music on iTunes and Amazon.com skyrocketed. Currently 6 of the top 10 selling songs on iTunes are Jackson’s.
On the other side of the ocean, Swedish The Pirate Bay, was sold to Global Gaming Factory (GGF), a Stockholm-based software developer and Internet/gaming cafe franchise for $60 million Swedish Kronor, or $7.8 million dollars. GGF intends to respect copyright by introducing models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid . Last week The Pirate Bay owners lost their appeal in Swedish court for a retrial and were hit with a $3.9 million dollar fine and sentenced to a year in jail.
There are certain people that put integrity above all other wordly matters. These people cannot be understood by the common penny pincher, or those that place a priority on materialistic fortune.
There is a certain chap who was at one time positioned, through career and synchronicity, to make a vast fortune. All he had to do was sign a couple of documents, make a couple of decisions, and proceed with certain actions.
This chap placed a higher value on his integrity, and intentionally missed his big chance at becoming a very, very rich man.
Certain current cultures would undoubtedly assign to this individual the epiteth of a malaka, a shmuck.
Well, to this individual his integrity was worth much more, than all the cash in the world. You either understand it or you don’t.
And if you don’t, you never will…
A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within – Will Durant
Based on a seminar that was given in Brussels by yours truly.
The video above was used as an example of teamwork .
Notice how coordinated the band is, the precision of the start and stop sequences and how well the guitar and organ solos line up (Ritchie Blackmore – John Lord), smoothly supported by the rhythm layer (Ian Payce – Roger Glover) and how amazingly in tune Ian Gillan is; just joking Ian.
If your co’s management team works like this, then you’re 70 % on your way towards meeting exogenous (endo and exo corporate) threats especially when budget cuts start taking effect and corporate resources start becoming scarce.
If your management team has a history of internal bickering, rivalry and personal agendas, then you can rest assured some other management team is preparing to take over your turf whether its your market share or your market unit.
"Child in Time" is dedicated to the memory of Christina, June 2009, Stoupa Mani
As we’ve outlined in past entries, peer to peer and distributed agent technologies have many applications, and will have many more.
There’s a very very interesting paper written by D. Sanchez Guzman, Cesar Mora and R. Garcia-Salcedo (Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Mexico DF) outlining the use of distributed agent technologies in the teaching of Science in general, and Physics in particular. This study is published in the Latin American Journal of Physics Education, Vol. 3, No. 2, May 2009.
We consider it an honor that the above research paper includes as one of its references (reference 2) a past entryof “evolution in communication“.
I do a lot of travelling. I’m away on business 70% of the time within a working week. Because of my frequent travels I need to travel light and to be able to work on the go. You can understand why I have a Netbook. Every now and then I need to get stuff for my Netbook but because of my frequent travels, going store hopping is out of the question. So this is where the internet comes in.
Then I ran into this site and the products they offer, specifically the Laptop Accessories. Since I’m into VAIO my particular interest orbited around Sony VAIO P Accessories and Sony VAIO P Cases. Again, since I’m usually on the go I need to quickly scan through the products, find what I’m looking for, compare prices and also check out if there’s any negative feedback (this is where the blog comes in) as well as the ability to communicate with the company for compatibility questions, and product specifications.
The site also caught my attention because its simply built with ample photographs and ease of navigation and the way the products stand out. I was able to easily browse through a wide range of Netbook accessories (and device specific accessories that are compatible with my Netbook; Laptops are also supported) and pinpoint in a matter of minutes the exact case for my Netbook.
Of course the actual product characteristics provide valuable help in actually promoting the products through a website, and the detailed photography and simplicity of design greatly facilitate the trial aspect of any purchase process. This is imperative in any products promoted over the web since in each purchase decision, the consumer goes through a process where he/she visualizes using the product and if the particular promotion channel somehow impedes this, then this is one more point towards a negative purchasing decision.
To the first son he left 1/2 his camels, to the second 1/3 and to the youngest 1/9.
The sons being confused and all, had no idea on how to divide the camels without slaughtering them. So they went to this old lady seeking advice.
The ol’ gal gave them as a gift one of her camels (making the total amount 18 camels) and told them to go ahead and divide the camels up as per their father’s last will and testament.
So the first son had 9 camels, the second 6 and the last 2. Now the sum after this division is 17 which means that one camel remains, the camel that the old lady gave them as a gift, and which the three sons were more than happy to return as a token of thanks.
So with a bit of imagination and a different viewing angle, any impossibility can be turned to a win win situation.
In the late eighties, global economies were bracing for one more (of the now all too familiar) crisis. The economies of most western countries were overheating (high inflation) and interest rates were on their way up. The market was up to its ears in debt (thanks to Reganomics leaving the American economy 1 trillion in the hole by the end of the 80s) and was also in the midst of another speculative fever.
In the late 80s, legendary CEO Lars Ramqvist decided to take a risk (a calculated risk, not a speculative risk) and focus his company (while spinning off unwanted none core units) into cellular telephony. Ramqvist had been president of the mobile division for a number of years, and knew the market, the technology and his company’s ability well. While other companies were trimming their investments and workforce, Ramqvist started investing in R+D and took all the required steps (as per his strategic plan and gap analysis) to prepare Ericsson for its claim to the title of mobile telecommunications world leader. One of the results of the investment in R+D was the creation of radio TDMA which allowed cellular systems to expand into a digital modulation scheme, without affecting the existing cell plan (ie. the radio network did not have to be redesigned). For this, Ramqvist and Ericsson were awarded the IEEE technology award of the year as well as a good portion of the digital mobile market (which included both TDMA and GSM markets). Ramqvist was also eventually made a fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
But Ramqvists’ success was not the resultant technology, but his strategy. His strategy transformed Ericsson into a global telecommunications player, a company that enjoyed continuous growth for more than 10 years with adequate return to its shareholders, and a shooting star in the telecom world.
His strategy consisted of focusing on a market (mobile telecom), taking a calculated risk (he knew the business and the required inputs and the expected outputs due to his past tenures) including the necessary investments, and leadership (convincing his management team and the company to go for it!).
Jack grew up in Montreal within the framework of the Canadian vertical mosaic. Jack, an orphan and thus a widow’s son, graduated from McGill University with an honors degree in Electrical Engineering (he earned his degree through hard work and paid for his semester by playing piano at a posh downtown bar). His Profs wanted him to go on to graduated studies, but Jack had other plans.
Jack wanted to see the world .
Jack joined a multinational and he did well. He did so well that he became one of the most respected professionals in his domain (Jack managed to take a short break from his career and complete, at company expense, an Msc. in Administration from SLOAN; Jack wanted to see how it would be to study and live in Boston). Subsidiaries of the company were so eager to have him guide them, that they insisted on putting him at the most expensive local hotels whenever he found the time to pay them a visit. For example every time he travelled to Dublin (one of Jack’s favorite destinations), the local company always put him up in one of the executive suites of The Shelburne hotel next to St. Stephen’s Green (JFK’s favorite hotel and notable for its bar which hosts the Dublin, Dun Laoghaire and Dalkey elite Thursday nights). Now anyone with deep pockets and their own business can rent a room in a luxury hotel, but there’s always something more to be said when someone else is willing to pay for such comforts (which also included a limo for his home away from home urban travel needs).
A number of Jack’s friends, while Jack was continent hopping, established their own business and made money. But Jack wasn’t interested in money. Jack wanted to see the world. On Tuesday afternoon Jack was walking through the alleys of residencial Polanco and on Wednesday afternoon Jack was entertaining a fine Athenian lady under the Acropolis. Jack respected the importance of money, but also understood that he would live only once, and the more he could absorb from this world, the better. So Jack did not underestimate the power of money, but he didn’t overestimate it either. There was a time and a place for everything.
Of course the years passed and Jack eventually left his multinational, Business wasn’t what it use to be and since it got quite boring, Jack decided to call it quits; of course with a little help. People shy away at leaving their work in their forties, especially in the midst of a crisis, but Jack see’s it as the natural thing to do. His line of business went down, he’s seen the world and savored its flavors, so now its time to do something that will be in tune with the times to come. Jack’s right now on the Trans Siberian hoping to catch a good view of Kazan. He’s coming back in a couple of weeks and he’s gonna be doing something totally new. He won’t blend into any traditional modes or predefined paths; he’ll use his imagination and create something that fits his way of life, his style, his essence, his raison d’etre.
Don’t get me wrong, Jack isn’t working out of the system.
Jack IS the system.
Your Long Term Evolution e-book will be out in two weeks time. And yes its free !
People from all over the world are rushing to secure a place in the opening of the new Acropolis Museum this Saturday night . Ticket reservations stretch all the way to the end of October with cross global interest including from far away places such as Argentina, and the land of the rising sun. The initial demand from the local population was so high, that the servers supporting the web based system collapsed for a couple of hours until the load sharing function was able to strike a symmetric balance with the related transactions. When the system was restored, tickets for the opening night were sold out within a 15 minute time window. The press has been generally positive except for one or two featured articles in the Guardian which fostered a sarcastic tone (probably having to do with the return of the Elgin marbles; well, sticks and stones ….). Of course a number of journalists predicted that the Athens Olympics in 2004 would be a disaster but the world knows better now, doesn’t it?
So for those that will be attending the Saturday night event (the author of this article is one of them; sorry no pics due to the organizing committee’s request) Greece will be welcoming you to an unequaled opening celebration of our humble building which stands at the foot of one of the greatest achievements of human history.
The Glory of Man
Mrs.Athina Darra inaugurated the “Constantinople 2010″ gala by performing a set of fine Hellenic melodies in the church of Saint Irene in Constantinople (or Istanbul).
So while the Turkish Generals are trying to figure out what to do with Prime Minister Erdogan, this highly publicized event that hosted many Turkish citizens and many foreigners, proved once again that he who lives by the sword dies by the sword, and that culture and the human spirit prevail over any arm, armour or army :
Brave men were living before Agamemnon
And since, exceeding valorous and sage,
A good deal like him too, though quite the same none;
I remember visiting Prague a couple of years ago, and attending the “black light” theatre. The show of the night was Don Giovanni, and the actors were glow in the dark puppets. Aside from the exceptional music and surrealistic performance, what left an imprint in my mind was the parts of the puppets that glowed in the dark. I have this thing about colourful images and motion against a black background.
Then I ran into this site and the products they offer, specifically the glow bracelets. I imagined how it would be to host a party (at home, in some place or other, or a beach party at night) where we would wear the glow bracelets and stage some kind of show, or just dance. Perhaps we could all dress in black, or gothic like where the only light would be that emitted from the glow bracelets.
The site also caught my attention from the evident motion (the people dancing) vs that dark background, the ease of navigation and the way the products stand out. There are some areas that are a wee bit congested but on the whole that site is navigable and well structured. The areas that are of interested (for example the online help access) are readily found.
Of course the actual product characteristics provide valuable help in actually promoting the products through a website, since the light factor against a dark background enhances the photo, and the simplicity of design greatly facilitates the trial aspect of any purchase process. In other words you don’t have to actually try the product to visualize how you would use it. This is imperative in any products promoted over the web since in each purchase decision, the consumer goes through a process where he/she visualizes using the product and if the particular promotion channel somehow impedes this, then this is one more point towards a negative purchasing decision.
A lot of companies are placing executive control into the hands of bean counters in order to rationalize the costs of the companies, and make some sense out of the continuing financial chaos.
These are the companies that will probably miss out on the next big thing, and eventually sizzle out.
You probably know which cos I’m talking about, and if you don’t you eventually will.
Then you have those companies that, financial crisis aside, will aggressively and dynamically pursue their vision and ideas, and will probably lead us into the next generation of lucrative business practices.
Those are the companies to invest in if you wanna get a good return on your hard earned cash.
What companies are we talking about ?
Well, life would be boring without challenges, wouldn’t it?
”Shoot, why don’t we close all of our factories ? That way we can permanently minimize costs” (A Ford executive to then Ford CFO Lumsden)
As I was sitting drinking my coffee and minding my own business, a kid from DEREE college asked me: “Hey Pop, what’s the wildest thing you ever did”.
I looked at him with ½ closed eyes and said:
“back in ’76, I convinced my red haired green eyed high school sweetheart Wendy to grab a greyhound ride with me from Montreal to Ohio to catch one of the very last Zeppy concerts.”
We didn’t inform our parents and when we got back we both got a good spanking and a 3 month long grounding sentence (aside from the fine from the police since our parents thought we were kidnapped and mobilized the municipality force).
But you know something son, it was worth it. It was worth it because we paid for the trip and tickets with our year long pocket savings, and because the last thing we cared about those days was how you dressed, how much your pa was making, and what kind of car you drove (the best car in high school was driven by a kid working in the local butcher shop; we’re talking now about a Z28; that’s a 4,2L Camarro (he was Italian, the Greeks preferred the equivalent Pontiac Trans Am) for you Mediterranean home grown boys that like to zoom with 1,8L Subarus…).
And yes we all went to college and yes we all struck good careers. Not because our parents helped us but because we put our butts down, studied our kazoos off and hit life with passion. When we needed something we worked for it and when we got slapped down, we stood right up again and fought back with a vengeance (figuratively).
And just to show you that it takes many colors to make a rainbow, about 20 years later in ‘96 I asked my french teacher Pascale (I was her worst student) what she would do if she won 100,000 USD?
She said that she would blow every last penny on seeing the world. Pascale today teaches French at ITESM in Monterrey and as the years go by, I can only but respect her more and more.
Humanity has been struggling (and still is in some parts of the world) for over 3000 years for a form of government that represents the basic right of self determination (ie. Democracy).
In most countries, one can abstain from exercising their right to vote. Abstaining from vote is not the same as voting blank or destroying your ballot. In the latter cases you are stating that you do not believe that any party represents your interests, and you are not giving any party the honor of your vote. You are voting which means that you are supporting the system and basic democratic values and you are making a statement.
Abstaining means that you are not exercising your right to vote, that you are not participating in the democratic system (“the ancient Athenians stated that a citizen that does not vote is a useless citizen”) and that participating in the democracy is not worth your time. Abstaining is not a show of complaint against the political parties, but a show of complaint and no confidence in the actual democratic system.
There may come a day (and may that day never come) when someone or something may say that perhaps its time to change our form of government. That someone or something may say that because only a small percentage of the population votes, the present form of government is simply not working at a time when the country needs a sound working system to manage perceived calamities . Perhaps this new type of authority may actually organize itself in such a way that its members do vote, but also discourage other parties and people from voting (ie. encourage them to abstain).
The result will be that this authority may be voted in (since most of the population doesn’t vote but the ones that do (although a small minority) vote for this new authority) and then by “democratic means” may proceed to change the system to suit itself for the long term. I mean since no one cares and everyone abstains who will bother to stop them?
Of course it’s your democratic right to abstain (in countries where this is not illegal) but events some day may take an unexpected turn.
And even though you may then try to complain, no one may be listening anymore.
Since we’re on the home stretch regarding the Euroelections (GO VOTE DOG !), an examination of the different parties and their correlation to economics and other things, is in order.
Smith (right wing): Adam Smith and his invisible hand implies that everything should be left to the market, with minimum government intervention. Basically regardless of the economic circumstance, the market eventually reaches a state of equilibrium and self corrects. This economic ideology is Darwinism in its most basic form, which means that those with cunning and business acumen and that take the necessary risk stand a chance of doing very well, moderately well, bad and very bad. These investors/entrepreneurs need someone to carry out their plans, and that someone is the employee, otherwise known as labor (machines are also something that is slowly fitting into the picture with they’re accompanying technical support etc..). Even though Adam Smith deals with labor in its most basic form (unskilled workers) so that this labor can be readily called upon, dismissed or replaced as soon as possible (and as cheaply as possible), labor can be generalized to anyone that works for someone else as an employee (that is why we have blue collar and white collar labor). The Adam Smith approach can also be extended to a win-loose approach in negotiation.
Marx (left wing): In a time where Adam Smith was king, Marx came along and said that if humanity is to have a future, then distribution of wealth should be made extremely fair and that workers should have a say over their future and the future of the state. The way to gain this control is through force. The way to manage the change is through a revolutionary government which will take upon itself to radically transform the existing system to the communist system. In the communist system everyone is equal and everyone works for the common good, ie for everyone else. There is only one party, the communist party which represents the worker class; in the communist system everyone is a worker and the government represents these workers and works in a collective way to ensure a better future for the state, the state being the people. Since wealth is to be distributed equally to all, no one owns anything and everything is owned by the state , but since the state which is controlled by the people’s party is really the people, then everything is controlled by the people. So mi casa es su casa and this also expands to relationships; you cannot say that Martha is your wife (or Gazoo is your husband) since this implies possession and there are no possessions. So it’s a free for all when it comes to babes too! There are various questions that come to mind: Why should the entrepreneur share his wealth since she took all the risks and possessed the required skills to accumulate this wealth, and how much un untrained uneducated worker can cook up a strategy let alone lead a country (don’t take this too literally; some people have a natural gift towards leadership independent of whether they know how to spell or not “Supercalifragilisticepialidocious”)? One of the largest problems with implementing this system is that you end up having a set of people controlling the state, which brings up the age old problem of “who will watch the watchers” (unless you’re lucky enough to have truly incorruptible leaders ie. a one in 3 billion chance). Finally, if you witness a communist leader going to church, driving an expensive car, having a large estate and sending his/her kids to an expensive private school, then think twice about how much he/she and the party they’re leading practice what they preach (and how they handle all those dues they collect from their followers).
Keynes (center): Middle ground represented in politics by the 20th century socialist party (not by Bernstein and his followers; same name but important changes). This implies that you have a market system but government moves in to correct imperfection. So Darwinism in a controlled form. Why? Well first of all the market isn’t perfect. Secondly the vast majority of the population does not do very well, (or care to do well ) in business so indeed the vast majority is labor, and thirdly even though wealth is still in the hands of those that know how to accumulate it (and this isn’t the vast majority), the vast majority is still the vast majority and if you really piss them off (and this has happened in the past many many times) then you’re headed for trouble (the guillotine, the communist revolution and much much more). So don’t piss them off, give them bread and distribute wealth so that yes you can stay rich, but ensure that everyone else doesn’t starve. It’s a way of distributing things while preserving the existing political, social and class structure. Representative of this is collective bargaining and win win negotiation with an emphasis on the Nash Equilibrium. Problem with the center is that you need both a right wing and a left wing in order to have a center.
Since may have sent mails asking me to explain the Nash Equilibrium in a none mathematical way, I’ll refer to the movie “A Wonderful Mind”.
The Nash Equilibrium known as Win Win negotiation and resolving the Prisoner’s Dilemma:
Say that Dimitris, Tonester, Heckle and Vangelis are in a bar drinking it up and toasting their friendship. Then these five (yes five !) babes walk in where the most gorgeous of them all is the tall American blonde blue eyed babe. Well right of the bat D, T, H and V being “friends” try to figure out ways to shaft each other to gain exclusive access to the blonde. So as each of the guys in turn come on to the blond, the blond girl’s assets immediately rise (resulting in the lady’s aloofness) and she rejects all four. The other women seeing that D, T, H and V all went for the blonde, immediately also reject the four Caballeros since the women do not want to be the second choice. So Dimitris, Tonester, Heckle and Vangelis, the loosers that they are, end up taking cold showers instead of hitting home runs.
Now if the four dudes were proponents of the common good (instead of just looking out for themselves) they would have initially agreed to hit on the remaining four girls, one caballero per girl, and totally disregard the blond girl. This would increase dramatically their chances of scoring since anyone that knows anything about hitting on women in a bar realizes that the four girls being friends would be more open to dating four guys who are also friends since the goods are equally distributed in a secure way. So instead of acting independently, acting collectively would’ve resulted in a much more pleasurable night for all (even for the blonde babe since the last of the gang (ok this is a new variable that wasn’t introduced before; but hey we just opened up the Nash world to exogenous factors) Alfred P Neuman who came in late and who is just as conniving as D,T, H, V can now hit with on the blonde with high chances of success (no aloofness here, she’s all alone).)
It’s a nice piece of work, with elegant mathematics, and sure beats modeling the random walk of a group of pigeons chasing bread crumbs.
The business news of the week is that GM has hit a brick wall. GM and American car manufacturers have been going down since the 70s mostly due to Japanese and European competition, and the ensuing and continuing oil crisis.
The car industry is a saturated market.
You have about 6 or 7 major car companies, all producing the same thing, positioning in the same way their product lines and for the same target markets. This is reinforced by the fact that a new entrant can gain market share only by using price as the competitive variable instead of innovation. And when you see price as the prime competitive advantage (whether its cars were talking about, telecom services or whatever) then you know that the industry’s in trouble.
So what happened to GM has nothing to do with the market economy going astray. What happened to GM only reinforces the fact that things are working as they should be working. There are too many players producing the same thing, and management lacks the necessary vision, initiative and innovation to come up with something that addresses the needs of the times.
Of course we are also talking about a structural change in the economy (within the same economic system) which means that if one wants to make money, one has to address these new market needs by creating new industries. So you have the problem of a massive workforce populating the car industry, and government moving in to keep this old industry going to ensure that this workforce doesn’t end up in the street , something that would create a macroeconomic, political and social turmoil. Since government can’t, in the short term, automatically move this workforce to the new economy, it prefers to keep it occupied in the old.
GM was the leading US automaker for decades. Its leadership reflected the sign of the times in a postwar America (“What’s good for GM is good for America”). Some even say that GM, and the car industry in general, used various political maneuvers to gain the upper hand in a growing economy (using its clout to keep sabotage city transport in order to encourage purchases of new automobiles as well as building a time limit in its products so that they break down after 3 years, forcing you to buy a new one etc..). That may be so but the fact still remains that at one time, GM was innovative both in financial and organizational matters. GMs decentralized organization was a model for many industries (there’s a reason why there’s such a thing as the SLOAN School of Management). So was its marketing strategy (using proven technology albeit old, making the car reflective of a lifestyle and positioning these product lines to address the particular lifestyle).
This kind of vision ran out of steam in the 70s and GM has been running on momentum since the late 70s early 80s. So the economic system hasn’t collapsed; its just that the times have caught up and surpassed the auto industry.
In order to understand where the economic system is heading, one needs to understand how this economic system ( and related political system) came into place ie. understand the ideologies (there’s always an ideology) that brought about the present market system.
The chief ideology that brought about the present capitalist (or market) system goes by the name of empiricism which reflects the psyche of the merchant and professional class ( in contracts to the nobility and working class). The turmoil and different tribulations that marked the rise of the merchant/professional calls (the bourgeoisie) also brought about scientific experimentation, the age of enlightenment and rational thought, and these “currents” were translated into signs and symbols (you always need some sort of tangible trademark to reflect the signs of the times). This new thought reached its peak in the French and American revolution (a revolution lead by lawyers and other professionals and professional associations and their related societies) and has been struggling ever since.
The French and American (or rather the American and French) revolutions were revolutions triggered by few by using many to achieve the goals of most in a weighted manner (the weight factor is correlated to the class system). These revolutions go hand in hand with the market system, the first French charter of human rights (which reflect the rights of the individual but do not address the issue of what happens when these rights infringe on the rights of the many ie. Adam Smith vs. Keynes (or Marx for the more radical), win lose negotiation as opposed to win-win negotiation (ie. The Nash Equilibrium)).
The strategic advantage of this economic system is the accompanying political system known as “democracy”. A democracy surpasses all other present day forms of government by efficiently addressing on detail, a detail that is crucial to any thriving society. This detail is known as “managed change”.
Plato stated a couple of thousand years ago that the best ruler is the perfect ruler. The main problem of any administration is the problem of who will monitor this administration and ensure that this administration is doing what it’s suppose to be doing (“who will watch the watcher?”).Since only God is perfect it necessarily follows that humans cannot be perfect rulers; power corrupts the best of us.
The only way to address this so far is to keep someone in power long enough to pass required policies, and have the option to remove them from power. Black ball them and vote them out !
Democracy has proven so far to be the only system conceived by humanity that handles the issue of keeping administrations in check, this by having timely elections (companies don’t have such efficient systems and this in large explains why older companies who have semi permanent CEO’s and boards eventually go extinct as markets change; they stagnate).
Any other system that bases itself on a permanent set of rulers (anything over 10 years is permanent so if you’re gonna do a revolution and you put a revolutionary government in place that is still in place after a couple of years, you don’t have a revolution anymore…you have an institutionalized revolution which becomes an institution and which ends up as a stagnating political, and economic entity) will eventually go astray.
So think twice before abstaining from elections whether Euro elections or otherwise.
Sweden has discovered a 16 year old Einstein, the offspring of Iraqi refugees. 16 year old Mohamed Altoumaimi has conceived a procedure that produces and simplifies a Bernoulli number series. Because of his work and his general aptitude towards mathematics, Mohammed has been offered admission to Uppsala University.
71% of British citizens state that French women are sexier that their English counterparts, while 66% state that French women are better dressers and 92% state that generally French women are thinner than their British counterparts.
Of course judging from the pic below, British women have nothing really to worry about; stats are always misleading.
And talking about the picture above, transparency prior to the euro election is becoming the talk of the town. While Greece is till brewing with the Siemens case, the British FSA has partially opened its cards and presented various scenarios about the state of the kingdom in 2011. The various plausible economic scenarios for 2011 include a 50% drop in real estate, and a 12% unemployment rate (the Phillips curve is holding and motionless since inflation will be under control; sorry no stagflation this time around). The FSA has mandated a crash test on the British banks (RBS and Lloyds) but refuses to disclose the results, raising suspicions of concealment of information.
For the first time in history the Chinese have surpassed the west (Greece) in the purchase of second hand commercial vessels. According to Allied Shipbroking, for the first couple of months of 2009 the Chinese have bought 66 ships (695,3 mUSD) while the Greeks are in close second with 64 registered purchases (944,4mUSD). The total number of registered purchases for the first five months of 2009 come around 427 used ships (5,3 BUSD) which include 301 freighters, 101 tankers, 20 carrier vessels and 5 ships for cold storage purposes (ie. Floating refrigerators). Traditionally the Greeks have been first in tonnage, the Fins a close second and Japan a tight third.
Bloomberg states that GM is expected to announce bankruptcy on June the 1st. This means that GM will probably be nationalized by the US government (did you ever think you’d live to see the day!) which implies about a 70% controlling interest. This also spawned further outrage by the German government on the implication that Opel (GM Germany and Europe) may require a further infusion of about 300M. On the other hand GM china seems to be doing very well. Sort of reminds you of Ruppel which kept on fighting after Tsolakoglu had singed unconditional surrender to Dietrich.
Folli Follie has shown an increase in sales of about 11% (so not everyone’s going bankrupt as you can see) and we’re sure here at edinpress that lovely Eleana is surely smiling.
The AOL – Time Warner merger is going to hell (recall that the buyout by AOL has tagged as the sale of the century; AOL in 2001 bought Time Warner for a whopping 124 BUSD). Time Warner announced its spinoff from AOL. Also AOL seems to be floundering since in 2002 AOL had 26,7 M registered users while the first quarter of 2009 witnessed AOL having about 6,3 M registered users. The drop is due mainly to the fact that AOL internet accessed was supported by dial up access. The arrival of fast internet (through DSL / cable mediums) put the AOL customer base on freefall. Historically, any one involved seriously with strategy will tell you that company mergers or buyouts may work out on paper but rarely in practice (by rarely we mean that they never meet their projected life span and financial goals). The major reason (something that the bean counters and penny pinchers never take into account) is the human factor and the inability of human resources for various reasons to implement the “new ” corporate culture that will lead help achieve the new goals.
Finally, we have 24 degrees today in Athens around the Kalamaki area. Summer as can be seen, is around the corner.
Youth is a mosaic of images that generate impressions which form a composition matrix of one’s life.
Mrs. Schechter was my fourth grade teacher in Guy Drummond School Outremont.
Mrs. Schechter was the kind of teacher (a breed now extinct) which infused in young people the kind of optimism that is necessary to deal with the challenges later faced in any life and career.
Mrs. Schechter at that time expected her first born.
We lived in hodgepodge neighborhood of Greeks, Italians, Jews, French and English Canadians. We regularly played hockey in the back alley “lanes” (where the municipality picked up the trash) and “chase” in the street.
Mrs. Schechter lived in a modern building (which she owned) close to the corner of Van Horne and Querbes.
She would come home about an hour or two after us, her students, and she would always break a warm smile that brought the sun out.
She cared.
The days turned to months and the months turned to years.
We still played hockey and chase.
Mrs. Schechter still came home an hour later than us, but her colorful clothes gave way to black.
I remember, during my last days in Querbes, Mrs. Schechter, dressed in black mourning the loss of her beloved, pushing a baby carriage, in the afternoon and during the weekends.
On Querbes Street.
She still managed to break a smile, albeit for a second or two, to her former students.
With 1976 and the eminent change in Quebec politics, Mrs. Schechter put her building up for sale, and moved away like so many English speaking Quebecers.
Humanity has been searching for some sort of evidence (the missing link..) that connects homo sapiens to the basic ancestral life forms that once populated this planet. We shudder at the thought of being the result of some genetic experiment performed by higher life forms.
People many times attempt to trace their origins, their family tree. Many go through insurmountable difficulties to seek out and bond with their natural parents.
Many Nations who cannot define their heritage, attempt to steal the history and traditions of other Nations.
Companies that have somehow gone astray, return to their core values and core competencies in an effort to curb losses and rediscover the road to profitability.
There’s an email going around that a well known powerhouse in the mobile communication world, a builder of mobile phones and platforms, is giving free laptops to those that forward twenty or more emails of the received letter.
The main idea is that if you spread the message via email (virally) then brand awareness will increase geometrically. For example user A sends 20 mails, and the 20 users that receive the mails send 20 mails each..so you get the point.
First of all, all of the major mobile terminal communication companies (sony ericsson, lg, samsung etc.. etc..) rely more on mass media for brand awareness than viral methods (much much more efficient..believe me). Of course word of mouth helps (I like this phone so I recommend it to friends) but since the purchase risk is low (the cost of a phone is low compared to the risk factor; its not a car and its not a house) lifestyle is more important than a recommendation since the product can, and usually is changed, in a short time (due to lifestyle mostly). Mass media is very efficient in projecting a form of life style.
Secondly, if they gave out a laptop for every 20 emails sent, then these companies would eventually (probably within 3 months) go bankrupt since you’re talking about giving a laptop, for free, to the whole world in a very short timeframe…unlikely that the board or the shareholders would approve.
Thirdly, the email is equivalent to payola…ie. they’re openly bribing you to pass on the good word . A definite no for any corporation.
So it doesn’t take PhD to figure this scam out…Dooh!
Note : a noteworthy aspect of this particular scam is the excellent viral component that’s built in to the communication. You have content (the message) and you have motivation to pass the message to a number of people (the laptop if you pass the message on). So the receiver has a piece of the action if he/she passes on this message.
This site will offer a free handbook describing Long Term Evolution in about 2 weeks time.
So if you’re interested in next generation mobile communications in general, and Long Term Evolution in particular, check back here in about 2 weeks time and you’ll be able to download the material.
From the commission : Intel got slapped with a 1,06 billion euro fine for anti competitive monopoly like business practices. This is the largest fine of its sort in the history of the EU. The commission declared that Intel is using its dominant position in the microprocessor market to trumple over its competition, especially the smaller AMD (the commission’s decision was based on an initial lawsuit filed by AMD back in 2000). The commission declared that Intel was actually inducing large pc manufacturers (ex: Dell, HP,Acer,Lenovo, NEC) to favor Intel microprocessors over those of the competitor by using business practices such as special offers, vouchers, credit notes etc… For these special offers to take effect, the manufactures had to deploy Intel processors in about 80% of their manufactured goods (ex: pcs). Intel business practices also restricted the channels where the particular enterprise could sell the pcs that did not include Intel processors (ex: only through the internet) including an agreement that delayed the offering of the products hosting competitor devices 6 months after the equivalent Intel product hit the market.
The commission claims that Intel also financed large retail chains such as Saturn and MediaMarkt to carry only equipment that hosted Intel processors.
This means that if they catch you downloading (through torrents or any other way) material that is regarded as pirated, and violating anti piracy legislation, your internet access gets cut.
There are millions of people (composers, artists, authors etc…) that are entitled to have efficient and fluid protection when it comes to guarding their intellectual property. Granted!
The way that this is tackled by governments however leaves much to be desired.
For example say I buy a book. When I buy a book I buy the right to read the book but in many ways NOT to copy and distribute, plagiarize or change the contents of the book in any way (unless I have the specific ok from the publisher and/or author depending on the contract the author has with the publisher).
If someone copies the book, illegally and gives me a photocopied version then if I do proceed to photocopy the photocopy (remember I don’t have the book; I have an illegal copy of the book) then I may be or may not be breaking a law.
Now say that I memorize the book (and it is possible since the Greeks for ages were reciting memorized versions of the Iliad and Odyssey before Pissistratos put the stuff down in written form) and recite its contents (ie. distribution through word of mouth) to other interested parties who geometrically do the same thing to others. Am I breaking a law? Yes? Sez who? I am breaking no law and if someone tries to stop me from expressing my right to speech then they are stepping over my basic freedom of speech.
When I illegally copy a dvd (ie. I crack and rip) then the way things stand I am breaking copyright laws and infringing on intellectual property rights (the same applies if I scan a book onto hard disk). If I get caught in the process then indeed I am eligible for litigation. Of course if someone caught me doing this on my pc then they are violating my privacy and they are also eligible for a mighty lawsuit.
So it is virtually impossible to catch someone ripping or illegally copying material without violating that someone’s right to privacy.
The minute the material is in digital form, then I am not so sure one can persecute the person actually violating the copyright laws. Remember what we said above about the Iliad and the Odyssey?
So the problem is that governments are taking measures to tackle a problem that exists as a problem because the whole approach is wrong. Governments are trying to use outdated legislation and practices to address new issues that come from new situations. In the same way that prohibition addressed an issue that could’ve been addressed in a better way if some thought was put into the matter beforehand, and if the government was in touch with the times (and perhaps avoided the Great Depression altogether).
Besides, restricting internet access on pirate downloads means that some smart guy will come up with a piece of code that will somehow fool Big Brother into not detecting that you’re actually downloading the pirated stuff. So, as in prohibition, a new industry will flourish that will probably facilitate illegal downloads.
So protecting intellectual property rights is important. It will remain to be seen whether the current way of approaching this issue bears fruit.
Video communicaton through fixed online applications has become very, very popular (ex: video skype). Video communication through telecommunication broadband systems has not become very popular (whether fixed or mobile).
Ok, now let’s correct the hickup in the previous statement: Video communication has become popular over telecom networks since skype and a host of other such application software do indeed rely on the telecommunication network.
The question is how did skype and all the other peer to peer applications manage to catch a market in say five years, a market that the traditional telecom companies have been addressing for the last 40 years (remember ISDN video tv? and of course we now have 3G (and later LTE) video call capabilities) without much success.
Premise : Video communication does exist as a succesful service, but through advertising based peer to peer applications that are independent from the telecom providers service offering and billing system!
Why?
One possible answer is that skype (and all the other skypes) offered it for free. The other answer is that they offered it for free to the users that could not afford to pay for the service anyway, the youth segment (well most could but you know..). Another factor that comes to play is that most of these peers understood that this segment relied on the “socializing factor”. Skype (and later applications such as facebook, gmail, msn etc.. ) built in a”gossipy virality” into the actual applications, allowing people to communicate, share, coordinate, incorporate and generally get involved; The key advantage with all these applications is the “social butterfly” aspect of the application. Another advantage is that the users got something in return for actually promoting the application to their friends, family and peers. Inother words the application contained a built in viral component.
So while the previous strategy focussed on interconnecting customers (an older generation that really had no time, or care to watch itself on a screen) through video, or mobile video, as is done through voice, the peer to peer applications focussed on using voice, video , text and anything else that was/is at their disposal as enblers to allow people to group into “tribes”. This satisfied an individual’s need to socialize and be part of a group, and simultaneously nurtured their personality’s self actualization factor.
(to be fair to the pervasive telecom network, technological limitations were indeed an obstruction since SS7 and ATM based ISDN network let much to be desired regarding general interconnectivity, something that is crucial in setting up a online “tribe”. Also, the initial “party lines” were a step in the right direction, they were indeed free (either on purpose or by accident) but the revenue models in existence at the time could not capitalize on such trends. This of course is an oversimplification of the situation, but will be corrected in the future as this journal will dwelve in detail as to how things panned out, and why).
Mme Reding is puting the sqeeze on any company that takes information privacy for granted.
To begin with, the UK is being summoned by the European Court for violation of information privacy, since a number of UK companies have been illegally accessing private data and usage habits, through a piece of software known as Phorm, and using this information for target marketing. This data accumulation was done without the users’ knowledge or permission.
Mme Reding was firm on the commission’s policies of information privacy, and warned the member states that infringements to the present laws will not be tolerated.
Software such as Phorm, register internet usage activity and has been widely used by a number of companies, including BT, Virgin Media and Talk-Talk.
Mme Reding also called on social media companies such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to beef up their security mechanisms, especially when it comes to data pertaining to minors.
Last February the commission had received commitments from a number of corporations on improving their information security systems, and is currently awaiting (until the end of April) the results.
Dr. Robert KaplanHarvard Business School strategy guru and conceiver of the Balanced Scorecardstates that company management is so focused on day to day operations and short term sales, and devotes little if any time to strategic thinking..
This symptom may be diagnosed on the corporate level as well as the middle management level, and its results can be witnessed over time as the company looses market share to other more focused companies.
For example the technical department of a company pushing networks may be buried on handling customer requests and problem solving technical issues, while foregoing any serious considerations on overall network evolution and what piece of the customer’s network the supplier wants, can or is should have to remain in the game, in the long run. The end result is while this supplier is getting bits and bytes, another supplier through careful maneuvering manages to secure crucial network entities and eventually gains hold of the direction of the customer’s network, and of course of the most profitable components. Thus the concept of strategic network evolution.
The same applies to the strategic position of a subsidiary vis-à-vis the corporate biosphere.
Business is a chess game, and those that plan a few steps ahead are always, force majeure, ahead of the competition.
Of course in order to play chess, and to play it well, you need qualified chess players that are focused on long term results rather than short term sales and a “today is important and tomorrow will take care of itself” attitude.
Dr. Kaplan clearly emphasizes that a qualified upper management must meet at least on a monthly basis and devote time and resources to conceiving and maintaining a strategy.
“Strategy without tactics is the long way to victory. Tactics without strategy is the long way to failure.” Sun Tzu, the art of war
Technology can help in forging a medium to long term strategy. Technology can help corporations map out their strategy and see a visual representation of the strategic plan, use cross correlations to see how influence factors interact and generally monitor, analyze , design based on agreed visions, and correct any course deviations. Tools such as dashboards and scorecards allow a company to monitor what goes on within the organization, which areas on which time periods over or under perform, and with the help of decomposition trees and maps, why things occur the way the occur.
The following video summarizes the above discussion:
For those returning to Athens Greece from a trip to Mexico, a trip that was realized in the last couple of weeks (last flight from Mexico to Athens was believed to be Friday the 24rth of April) and who fear, or have cause to fear, anything regarding the Mexican Swine Flu, please be advised to contact immediatly the operations center for disease containment (εθνικό κέντρο επιχειρήσεων υγείας) at
Aston Hayes worked in a Telecom company. Aston Hayes was a programming genius. Aston Hayes had a knack for new programming languages and new programming methods.
Aston bought a book on a new programming language. It cost him 20 USD, written by lovely Laura and good ol Head of Caddon Water. Aston spent a week learning the language and all the ins and outs (and I mean all the ins and outs including hacks, distributed architectures, Trojans and Danaans etc..).
Aston then sought out a student (seek and thou shalt find), a rich dude that wanted badly to get certified in this language.
Aston charged him 1000 a month (about 50 us per 3 hours and had about 3 3hr sessions per week) and held on to him for 17 months. The kid became and ace and got certified scoring about 95% on the certification exam, then with references got a job; the kid now is a top notch programmer earning good bucks, plus some more bucks doing freelance.
So Aston, programmer genius and entrepreneur, got a return of about 5000% on the first month of his initial investment, and overall return of about 85000%.
By now most people have heard of the Pirate Bay verdict being “guilty of copyright infringement”. The verdict will be appealed and torrent users are already massing to support the world’s biggest torrent site. Remember these are also voters and the Euroelections are coming up.
The issue with the Pirate Bay reflects more lawmakers’ inability to deal with the digital divide, than the issue of copyright. Problems could have been avoided altogether if lawmakers kept with the times, or even better yet, ahead of the times instead of watching things happen, saying “what happened”, and then moving in to fill the holes.
Sort of the way they dealt with prohibition and the way they’re dealing with drugs.
The point of the matter is that digital reality is indeed a reality whether old style manufacturing likes it or not.
While industries are arguing about Blu ray and Dvd, industry hasn’t realized that you don’t need either.
You can download one way or another, paid or pirated, a torrent of your favorite film, put it on an external drive, move your drive to your HD tv set, connect it via an accessory that converts the avi to a tv signal, and watch the film via your usb connection. Of course you can watch directly on your computer without anything too, but for those that like their huge tv screens, avi to tv converters exist at about 99 euro.
You can also be cool and add a tv card to your computer motherboard and watch everything on your computer, including the ability to record on your hard disk.
Full editing features are included on all such accessories which means you can watch a great movie, minus the violence and sex scenes when the whole family is watching, and include back these same scenes when the kids are asleep.
No dvd and no dvd players required. Portability through slim external drives and usb sticks too !
That’s what its all about ,and that’s what it will be about (and more, oh so more !) and I’m not really sure governments and lawmakers have understood this.
Sort of the same way that telecom companies haven’t understood that skype, facebook etc… are really in competition with them…students gossiping over facebook would’ve used their cell phones if there was no facebook…wouldn’t they?
Remember the partylines we had in America (Montreal had a great one…great place to make friends)?
Well , what do you think facebook is all about (and much much more..)?
LONDON (Reuters) – Physicist Stephen Hawking, the author of “A Brief History of Time” who is almost completely paralyzed by motor neurone disease, has been urgently admitted to hospital, Cambridge University said on Monday.
Hawking, 67, was taken by ambulance to a local hospital in Cambridge, where he is a professor of applied mathematics and theoretical physics.
“Professor Hawking is very ill and has been taken by ambulance to Addenbrooke’s Hospital,” the university said.
A university spokesman said his condition was described as comfortable and that he would be kept in hospital overnight.
Hawking, who is only able to speak through a computer-generated voice synthesizer, had been ill for a couple of weeks, with his condition deteriorating since he returned from a trip to the United States at the weekend, a source said.
He canceled an appearance at Arizona State University on April 6 due to a chest infection. A pre-recorded lecture was played to a science conference instead.
He has previously been treated for pneumonia and the source said it appeared his latest illness was related to the chest infection, although he stressed there was no diagnosis yet.
The head of Cambridge’s applied mathematics department expressed hope that Hawking would recover.
“Professor Hawking is a remarkable colleague,” said Peter Haynes. “We all hope he will be amongst us again soon.”
GLOBAL RENOWN
Hawking is renowned for his work on black holes, cosmology and quantum gravity. He achieved global recognition with the publication in 1988 of “A Brief History of Time,” an account of the origins of the universe.
Hawking began suffering from motor neurone disease in his early 20s but went on to establish himself as one of the world’s leading scientific authorities, and is constantly called upon to comment on new discoveries in astronomy and physics.
He raised his profile in popular culture with guest appearances in “Star Trek” and the cartoons “Futurama” and “The Simpsons.” In 2007, he took a zero-gravity flight over the Atlantic Ocean in an adapted Boeing 727 jet.
Since 1974, the Oxford-educated scientist has worked on marrying the two cornerstones of modern physics — Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, which concerns gravity and large-scale phenomena, and quantum theory, which covers subatomic particles.
As a result of his research, Hawking proposed a model of the universe based on two concepts of time: “real time,” or time as human beings experience it, and “imaginary time,” the time on which the world may really run.
“The universe is self-contained, and without boundary, in imaginary time. However, in real time, the universe will appear to begin at the Big Bang (the explosion thought to be at the origin of the universe),” Hawking has said.
“The laws of physics will hold everywhere, so it is not necessary to believe that God intervened to set it going.”
Motor neurone disease is a catch-all name for a family of muscle wasting diseases that includes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease in the United States.
Although Hawking is virtually paralyzed, he has a slow-progressive form of the disease.
Hawking, who is due to step down as Cambridge’s Lucasian professor of Mathematics when he turns 70, has been married twice. He has three children by his first wife.
(Reporting by Luke Baker; Editing by Charles Dick)
The Honorable George Papandreou (or Giorgos as he is commonly called by Greeks), President of Pasok and Socialist International, is indeed a rarity amongst present day politicians.
George is a man that has the uncanny ability to circumvent the layers of administration encompassing any public office, reach out to the common man, and thus feel the pulse of the Nation.His persona radiates a unique blend of charisma, stamina, resourcefulness, vision, patience and perseverance.
Politics they say is a jungle.
A jungle made up of a million different plants trees and trunks.
Some of these plants have a brief day in the sun, they flower quickly but they can’t seem to sustain, so they wither away.
Paul Krugman : Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of the most recent meeting of its open market committee – the group that sets interest rates. Most press reports focused either on the Fed’s downgrade of the near-term outlook or on its adoption of a long-run 2 percent inflation target. But my eye was caught by the following chilling passage (Yes, things are so bad that the summarized musings of central bankers can keep you up at night): “All participants anticipated that unemployment would remain substantially above its longer-run sustainable rate at the end of 2011, even absent further economic shocks; a few indicated that more than five to six years would be needed for the economy to converge to a longer-run path characterized by sustainable rates of output growth and unemployment and by an appropriate rate of inflation.”
So people at the Fed are troubled by the same question I’ve been obsessing on lately: What’s supposed to end this slump? No doubt this, too, shall pass – but how, and when? To appreciate the problem, you need to know that this isn’t your father’s recession. It’s your grandfather’s, or maybe even (as I’ll explain) your great-great-grandfather’s. Your father’s recession was something like the severe downturn of 1981-1982. That recession was, in effect, a deliberate creation of the Federal Reserve, which raised interest rates to as much as 17 percent in an effort to control runaway inflation. Once the Fed decided that we had suffered enough, it relented, and the economy quickly bounced back. Your grandfather’s recession, on the other hand, was something like the Great Depression, which happened in spite of the Fed’s efforts, not because of them. When a stock market bubble and a credit boom collapsed, bringing down much of the banking system with them, the Fed tried to revive the economy with low interest rates – but even rates barely above zero weren’t low enough to end a prolonged era of high unemployment.
Now we’re in the midst of a crisis that bears an eerie, troubling resemblance to the onset of the Depression; interest rates are already near zero, and still the economy plunges. How and when will it all end? To be sure, the Obama administration is taking action to help the economy, but it’s trying to mitigate the slump, not end it. The stimulus bill, on the administration’s own estimates, will limit the rise in unemployment but fall far short of restoring full employment. The housing plan announced this week looks good, in the sense that it will help many homeowners, but it won’t spur a new housing boom. What, then, will actually end the slump? Well, the Great Depression did eventually come to an end, but that was thanks to an enormous war, something we’d rather not emulate. The slump that followed Japan’s “bubble economy” also eventually ended, but only after a lost decade. And when Japan finally did start to experience some solid growth, it was thanks to an export boom, which was in turn made possible by vigorous growth in the rest of the world – not an experience anyone can repeat when the whole world is in a slump. So will our slump go on forever? No. In fact, the seeds of eventual recovery are already being planted. Consider housing starts, which have fallen to their lowest level in 50 years. That’s bad news for the near term. It means that spending on construction will fall even more. But it also means that the supply of houses is lagging behind population growth, which will eventually prompt a housing revival. Or consider the plunge in auto sales. Again, that’s bad news for the near term. But at current sales rates, as the finance blog Calculated Risk points out, it would take about 27 years to replace the existing stock of vehicles. Most cars will be junked long before that, either because they’ve worn out or because they’ve become obsolete, so we’re building up a pent-up demand for cars. The same story can be told for durable goods and assets throughout the economy: Given time, the current slump will end itself, the way slumps did in the 19th century. As I said, this may be your great-great-grandfather’s recession. But recovery may be a long time coming. The closest 19th-century parallel I can find to the current slump is the recession that followed the Panic of 1873. That recession did eventually end without any government intervention, but it lasted more than five years, and another prolonged recession followed just three years later. You can see, then, why some Fed officials are so pessimistic.
Let’s be clear: The Obama administration’s policy initiatives will help in this difficult period – especially if the administration bites the bullet and takes over weak banks.
But still I wonder: Who’ll stop the pain?
Note (from the Dark Press): One point (and there are many others as we shall see in a future article) that differentiates this crisis from the crash of ‘29, is that today there is much more available “cash”. For example, the Chinese are on a “European buying spree“ . We may see more of this “help” coming from other cash rich countries In the crisis of ‘29, the cash crunch smashed into the brick wall of the communist front (about 1/2 the world was red in those days; or on the way to becoming red) so there were not that many options for cash infusion. Since today’s “pyramid” is much more limited than the availability of cash, we can be sure that things will recover.
The next time this happens we can expect many more players (including those that have just discovered the wonders of market economies) which implies an even harder crash. The question of the millenium will then be, who will then supply the necessary cash infusion to “oil” the system?
When one thinks of Cosmopolitan, one thinks of London. The challenge one faces when on a trip to London is that large assortement of restaurants, bars/pubs, entertainment and shopping. There’s just too many things to choose from and simply never enough time.
Usually, one visits the places recommeded by family and friends. That in itself is a limitation.
QYPE is a websited designed to offer the visitor (or local) crowd powered information about different services offered in the city. Whether you’re looking for restaurants, cinemas or hostels, QYPE gives you the best deals offered by the best places. And when we talk about best, we’re referring to feedback given by people that have already used the service.
Remember that we are indeed talking about services. And services as most of us know (whether we are visiting the dentist or on the lookout for indian restaurants london) can only be assessed during consumption. In other words you don’t know what you’re getting into unless you’re actually tried, and paid, for the service. You can’t have a free trial as in the case of a candy bar, and you certainly can’t have a test drive.
QYPE does just that. It allows you to get unbiased referent power from people that have actually used the service. Unbaised because there’s so many uncorrellated entries that refer to the particular service and the price. Its the closest one can come to perfect market information insofar as services in London are concerned.
The site is easily navigable and contains tabs that address exactly what you’re looking for. You get for each service offering, a complete review listing and a detailed map that allows you to find your way around town and get to where you’re going.
Being a citizen powered service, you can hook up, add your info and then participate in review/feedback process. What’s the point of participating in the crowd? What do you get out of it?
Well let’s just say that someone will think twice about ripping you off when they know that such a mishap will quickly find its way to the market.
On the other had, any misrepresentation of the services offered will quickly get corrected by the remaining members who have tried the service and have disagreed with a particular entry. The point of the matter is that eventually, by reading through the comments, the forums and the reviews that this site offers, one eventually gets a strong undertanding of where to go, what is offered, how much its offered and what the expectations should be about the particular offering.
This also minimizes congnitive dissonance, which is essentially the natural feeling of dissatisfaction one may get after trying something, and believing that this something did not live up to expectations.
Cognitive dissonance is always minimized when expectations are close to matching the resultant experience.
Such is the power of crowd powered media. Quick market information that leads to proper service/market pricing.
At 8:30 this morning, at the local OAED (government sponsored Manpower Employment Center) an 18 yearold student gunman entered the facility and shot one of the students (at point blank). The gunman then proceeded to shoot two more passerbys, then went across the street, turned around the corner (close to a local supermarket) and turned the arm on himself.
All four were transferred to the local hospital facility at Nikea. The gunman passed away a couple of hours later. The rest are recovering soundly.
The motive behind the incident is still unclear, but what is certain is that the gunman was a shy quiet individual who nevertheless had experienced a number of skirmishes earlier in the month with some of his fellow students.
The local OAED (ΟΑΕΔ) installation has been subject to numerous violent incidents in the past, including one where one of the professors was attacked afterhours by a group of hooligans, one of his legs been broken by the assault.
Although this is a first for Greek society, teen unrest has prolifirated in the last couple of years. The main reason for this increase in violence is the country’s inability to convince its youth of the country’s capabilities in offering a secure future, a future that can be translated to jobs with adequate pay.
Time is relative and so are tastes. Work is relative, loyalty is relative,love and relationships are relative, point of views are relative,work is relative,security and employment are relative, wealth and welfare are relative and so is well being.
The economy is certainly the most relative of all.
Countries and nations are relative, and culture is relative.
Power is the most relative of all.
We certainly live in a relative world so you goddamn better have a lot of fuckin’ relatives.
At 3:30 AM local time this morning, 6,3 Richter shook the Italian city of L’Aquila.
Reports up to now indicate at least 150, over 1,200 injured dead and over 50,000 abandoning their homes in fear of aftershocks.
Reported damage includes historic buildings and a student residence (that reported no casualties).
Prime minister Berlusconi has issued a state of emergency, and nearby a relief camp has been set up with about 40,000 tents ; the armed forces have been called in to help in the rescue effort.
A number of airlines are providing free transport to foreigners, especially students. A check should be made with the related embassies/consulates for specific information.
Rescue teams continue to work in the relief effort; this effort is sometimes interrupted by strong repeated aftershocks.
A seismologist was arrested due to her claims of succesfully prediction the earthquake, and a number of seismologists are critical of failed measures because they claim that before the major earthquake occured, there were a number of tremors of increasing strength. A seismologist claimed that if the proper people were in the proper places then measures could’ve been taken to warn people and prepare for the major tremor.
Relief workers have been succesful in rescuing people, but were also witness to a number of tragedies, such a dead couple embraced in bed, and a situation where a mother rescued her daughter,but was killed herself.
Porgie’s department is being eliminated and merged with a department lower in the value chain. This was an idea that had originated about 10 years ago but then some dum dum who actually knew what presales and portfolios meant went and saved the day, took over the department and flourished it until he realized his health was more important (and his wallet) than ZiggleHeckletown. Then Porgie came along and figured he could sweet talk his way into something that was way above his 80IQ. This was ok since no one wanted the department anyway. The problem was that this department had a function that was indeed complicated; Porgie never understood this function and now when budgets are being eliminated Porgie can’t find a defense in hell on how to keep this department’s integrity intact. So bye bye department and bye bye Porgie.
Well we shouldn’t really say bye bye Porgie. He’ll try to swirm his way into some other area. Rumour has it that he’s trying to move into Heckle’s territory and that there’s a major war brewing up between Heckle and cousin Jeckle, versus Georgie of the noble lineage of Porgie (throw in a horse’s ass and you got yourself a full house !). Porgie’s trying to team up with his old friend WitchiePoo (birds of a feather, or same orientation, flock together) and put the squeeze on Heckle, but you gotta find something to squeeze before you put the squeeze and with Heckle, you may have problems finding this something to squeeze. He’s good though on doing cartwheels and flip flops so stay entertained.
The sad thing about this mess is that things did not have to necessarily turn out this way if some things were taken care of in the past. But then, if things were right here at home, Obama would’ve paid us a visit instead of shunning us for Ankara.
Oh don’t get me wrong. Barak is doing what’s best for America; the problem lies in this God forsaken place, not in Washington and certainly not in Rome.
But then you knew that didn’t you !
Well, off to Mexico City where the girls are pretty, the weather’s hot and the food is spicy. I’m also (after work hours) gonna be singing “The House of the Rising Sun” in a notable DF club accompagnied by a local band called Los Lobos de la luna llena. Yep, I’m also gonna be doing the “sun” solo on the sax. Will certainly post pictures.
A Greek policewoman stares in horror at the lifeless body of her slain comrade lying in a sidewalk in Athens. The Greek capital has been plagued by civil unrest and criminal activity. Greek police are currently in the process, with the help of foreign advisors including Scotland Yard, of a major restructuring effort which when completed will include quick deployment units .
July, and July the 1st is around the corner. For Europeans this may mean vacation planning (crisis, what crisis?), summer cleaning. For Brits and Americans it boils down to one thing, time to move. July is that month that most Canadians, Americans and northern Europeans, those that rent rather than own, change apartments.
There are many options and tools to use when moving. If the move involves assembly and disassembly, complications and a lot of space (from say 130 sq.m. to 150 sq. m.) then your best option is to use a removal company. Moveme offers a vast database of moving companies to facilitate the choice (in other words it offers close to perfect market information regarding a removal company, or many removal companies) and can help you set up a tender process where you can choose the moving companies that best fit your needs.
You can choose between removal companies that cater to large spaces or removal companies that cater to flats, or a mix and match of both.
The site design is clean, easily navigable and provides a plethora of information, information that includes a list of removal companies and moving companies, man and van options and many other features. In addition, the site design provides project management features that help you design, organize, plan, execute and properly inform people and organizations about your address change.
The additional services that one can find include utility management (gas, water, electricity etc…), home services management (for example setting up or transferring a broadband internet service, an alarm service) home, car and boiler insurance service, financial services (ex: mortgage and credit service), legal services and the already mentioned project management tools and services.
Moveme provides guidelines regarding accommodations for renting, buying (including information for first time buyers), selling, moving with family, moving with pets and a detailed guide for the physically challenged (those with disabilities).
Moveme is another example of how the right broadband applications coupled with the entrepreneurial spirit can help provide services that facilitate the way we work and live.
The service can be seen as a valuable tool with a good return for those that want to take the burden out of relocation, and make moving an interesting project management experience.
The McGill News (the Alumni journal of McGill University) has a feature article on Canadian Born Montrealer, William Shatner.
The article focuses on a interview of William Shatner (graduate of McGill University with a B.Com in 1952) done by Journalist Daniel McCabe (McGill, BA 1989) and summarizes the actor’s life and acting career.
What stands out in the interview is the fact that although Shatner has experienced many ups and downs in his life (Shatner came home one night and discovered the body of his second wife, Narine Kidd, an alcoholic, dead (drowned) in their pool) and career (for example after Star TrekShatner, in his forties, found himself out of work, broke and living in the back of his pickup) Shatner through persistence and perseverance surpassed all the trials and tribulations and bounced back.
According to Bill Shatner, “..the thing that really separates people who make it…from those that don’t is that the people who make it just don’t give up, no matter what”.
Sort of reminds you of Captain Kirkin command, doesn’t it?
Way to go Bill, and were still trekking the stars with you, even though today it’s through torrent wormholes.
The residents of the Athenian suburb of Drapetsona have unanimously voted Dimitris the fishmonger as the most important Greek of all times. Dimitris, with his motorized tricycle – cart (and his dog Svoura) has for the last 50 years (the dog isn’t that old!) walked the port city selling sardines.
Now Dimitirs has :
-never given a receipt for any of his sales (whether it’s a single sardine or a kilo)
-has never declared any income
-has never required any loans (from banks or loan sharks)
-has zero debt
-Has never entered a church
-Has never spoken or met a politician (rare in Greece)
-Has no, or is entitled to, any pension even though he’s 78 years old. The only burden Dimitris is to his country is the polluted air he breathes and the contaminated water he drinks.
-Does feed his dog, and himself with the sardines he sells, whose price and quality are amongst the best in the country (really, no joke!).
Big Dimitris has no property and lives in a shack without electricity, water or phone (no mobile phone too!).
Big Dimitris actually is an economics graduate (graduated about ½ a century ago) and was arrested some months ago for tax evasion. He was sentenced to a month in prison (with the option to pay for his release; something he refused to do) and spent the month in the prison of Korydalos looking after his health, ie. Eating, drinkingandwashingcourtesyoftheGreekstate. His curiosity prompted him to ask the state on the marginal cost of every cop, judge and bureaucrat that dealt with his case, but he never received a reply. Indeed he sent thirty a letter to the Greek state asking for an analysis to his microeconomic query (the letters were written by Paleokostas,the dude that escaped (for the second time !) with a helicopter as many of you readers no doubt have read or heard about) but the officials took a fit, and released Dimitris prior to completing his sentence (ie. He was released in 22 rather than 30 days).
The state figured that Big Jim was becoming a nuisance and that it was better to have him outside, rather than in prison.
Big Jim’s research dealt primarily with figuring the marginal cost of the government machine that involved itself with a special part of the prison population,that part being the merchants that had been imprisoned for outstanding debts to the state.
The same merchants whose taxes paid for many years the salaries of the judges, cops, clerks and bureaucrats that eventually put these merchants behind bars.
Viviane Reding : “Using your mobile phone abroad in the EU should not cost unjustifiably more than at home, whether for making calls, sending texts or surfing the Web. Europe’s 37 million tourists and 110 million business travelers are waiting for the promise of the borderless single market to finally have a positive impact on their phone bills.”
Prices of mobile phone calls made between EU countries will be further lowered as of July this year, according to an agreement sealed yesterday (24 March) over the EU’s so-called ‘roaming regulation’. As part of the deal, however, telecoms companies will still be able to subject users to an initial charging period of 30 seconds, which should enable operators to maintain some revenue.
The European Parliament is expected to endorse a recommendation by Viviane Reding, the European Union’s telecommunications commissioner, to cut the fees to connect a call to a mobile phone by 70 percent through 2012. These termination fees average 9 euro cents, or 12 U.S. cents, per minute in 27 E.U. countries; this would fall to less than 3 cents by 2012. Under the restrictions previously enacted, the limit on voice roaming charges is set to fall on July 1 to 43 cents per minute for making a call and 19 cents for receiving one, down from 46 cents and 22 cents now.
Cheaper text messages
The new measures, which were outlined yesterday as part of an update of the roaming regulation, would cap roamed text (SMS) prices at just €11 cents (VAT excluded) across Europe, down from the current average of €29 cents. But the cut could prove to be even more significant for some users as this average hides significant disparities between prices charged by operators. For example, in Belgium , a Base customer could pay up to €80 cents for a SMS sent from abroad, while customers of the Dutch company KPN can be charged up to €75 cents (in these cases VAT is already included). The new price controls would limit the retail charge for sending a cross-border text message while traveling in Europe to 11 cents. Currently, the average for messages while roaming within the E.U. is 29 cents.
Abolition of per-minute tariffs
The Commission’s review of the roaming regulation also seeks to abolish per-minute tariffs in roamed phone calls. Currently, most operators impose this billing system, which, according to the European telecom regulators group (ERG), charges customers for 24% more than the time they actually spend on the phone.
More cuts in cross-border call charges
Another measure aims to decrease current caps on roamed phone calls. These fees are currently limited to €46 cents, but are scheduled to gradually decrease to €34 cents in 2012. Charges for receiving calls will also go down. Softer stance on data roaming On data roaming, which is the use of the Web via a mobile phone while abroad, the Commission adopted a softer stance following strong pressure from the industry and concerns raised by consumer groups. The service is in fact at a nascent stage and price caps were considered to be a potential obstacle to the take-up of mobile Internet. Nevertheless, the Commission requested more transparency from operators. From 2010, consumers should be able to set in advance the maximum amount they want to spend on data roaming, after which their service would be interrupted. This will avoid the so-called ‘bill shocks’ experienced by some tourists, charged thousands of euros for downloading movies or songs while abroad. The problem is that cut-off schemes are not easy to apply from a technical point of view. Summer 2010 is regarded as an optimistic target. For cross-border Internet surfing, lawmakers are poised to set a wholesale price cap per megabyte of 50 eurocents to 1. The current EU average is 3.60 per megabyte. Even the lower limit is considerably more than people pay under flat-rate broadband plans at home, but might eliminate huge bills incurred by unwitting vacationers. In addition, the Commission proposed introducing caps at wholesale level on data roaming to tackle the highest tariffs and to increase competition among operators. Wholesale tariffs are those charged by an operator to another one in order to carry a service. They apply when a consumer uses, while abroad, the network of another operator. Mobile users will also benefit from lower charges for phone calls received while abroad. These fees will be capped from the current €22 cents per minute to €11 cents per minute from July 2011 (VAT excluded). Moreover, a new cap has been introduced for roamed text messages, which should cost a maximum of €11 cents (VAT excluded) from July 2009. More good news for consumers came with an agreement on a new system to prevent so-called ‘bill shocks’ for data roaming, which frequently hit mobile Internet users when abroad. The new regulation sets a €50 limit for data roaming per month (excluding VAT). Once a customer reaches 80% of this amount, the mobile operator will send a warning message, giving details of a procedure to continue data roaming. Should the user fail to respond, the operator must automatically cut the service once the cap is reached.
Compromise on billing system
The Parliament also had to give up its proposal to apply per-second tariffs as of the first second of a roamed phone conversation. Currently, most operators impose per-minute tariffs for roamed calls, a practice which ends up billing customers for 24% more time than they actually spend on the phone, according to the European telecom regulators group (ERG). “It’s like taking the train from Brussels to Paris and being charged to go to Rome,” explained Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva. The compromise will allow operators to impose an initial charging period of 30 seconds, after which the per-second system will be applied. This means that if an operator wants to exploit this advantage, a roamed phone call lasting 15, three or 27 seconds will always be charged as though it had lasted 30 seconds.
More specifically Home operators may charge their customers for roaming phone call:
• from 1 July 2009: a maximum of €0.43 per minute (excluding VAT) for outgoing and a maximum of €0.19 per minute (excluding VAT) for incoming roaming calls;
• from 1 July 2010: a maximum of €0.39 per minute (excluding VAT) for outgoing and a maximum of €0.15 per minute (excluding VAT) for incoming roaming calls;
• from 1 July 2011: a maximum of €0.35 per minute (excluding VAT) for outgoing and a maximum of €0.11 per minute (excluding VAT) for incoming roaming calls.
From 1 July 2009 operators would have to charge their customers by the second but can apply an initial minimum charging period of 30 seconds, says the compromise text. Cheaper data roaming services MEPs and the Council Presidency agreed with the Commission that a roamed text message (SMS) should cost a maximum of €0.11 (excluding VAT) from 1 July 2009.
Other data roaming services (such as sending emails and pictures or web-browsing from mobile phones or laptops) will be regulated at wholesale level – i.e. there will be a price cap for the rates the host operator charges a roaming customer’s home operator, calculated on a kilobyte basis:
• from 1 July 2009: a maximum of €1.00 per megabyte (excluding VAT);
• from 1 July 2010: a maximum of €0.80 per megabyte (excluding VAT);
• from 1 July 2011: a maximum of €0.50 per megabyte (excluding VAT).
To prevent “bill shocks”, roaming customers would be able to opt free of charge for a maximum financial limit from 1 March 2010, stipulates the compromise. One of these financial limits should be set at €50 (excluding VAT) or the corresponding data volume, agreed MEPs and the Presidency. This limit would automatically apply to all customers who have not made another choice by 1 July 2010, says the compromise text. The informal agreement says that providers will have to warn their customers when 80% of the agreed limit has been reached. Once the limit is reached, another notification should be sent, indicating the procedure to be followed if the customer wishes to continue data roaming. If the user does not respond the provider should cease all data roaming services.
Review in 2011 – Expiry by mid-2012
On MEPs’ initiative the Commission will have to review by mid-2011 at the latest, among other points, “the extent to which consumers have benefited through real reductions in the price of roaming services” and the competitive situation of smaller, independent or newly started operators. In addition, the text requires the Commission to “assess methods other than price regulation” for creating a competitive internal market for roaming. The regulation will expire by 30 June 2012, says the compromise. The existing regulation for roaming phone calls would otherwise expire by the end of June 2010.
The commission estimates that E.U. consumers will save 2 billion through 2012 because of lower termination rates. The rates are set by national regulators and vary from 2 cents in Cyprus to 15 cents in Bulgaria. Mrs. Reding wants to harmonize the rates by having regulators use a common formula for calculating operating costs. Mobile operators have said that the current level of termination fees was justified because of the huge fees they paid to E.U. member governments earlier in the decade for licenses to operate high-speed data networks.
But as mobile operators have become established and in some cases more profitable than land-line rivals, lawmakers are rethinking the need for higher wireless termination rates, which dwarf the charges to connect a call between two land-line networks, which are less than 1 cent a minute.
Finally, smaller operators, whose customers typically call people on other networks, support lower rates because they pay more to larger competitors than they get back from them.
By :Galia Perez Simonetti Ph.D. (Political Science)
My grandpa wasn’t Greek. My grandpa wasn’t even a Christian. But my grandfather was an illuminated man, who had deep democratic values and was willing to fight to the death for his beliefs. He thus joined Eleftherios Venizelos’glorious army as a Garibaldi volunteer. His regiment was labeled the “Iron Merarchia” and its command reported directly to General Daklis.
The Balkan wars of 1912 – 13,14 – 18 were my grandfather’s rendezvous with destiny.
My grandfather, one of the few educated men in his regiment, was in charge of the regimental log. His charge was to document in every detail possible the trials and tribulations of the war, as his regiment swept across the Bizani and the Epirus into Macedonia liberating its capital Thessaloniki and securing the ancient port named after Phillip Macedon’s daughter who drifted from history to legend.
My grandfather witnessed first hand the horrors and atrocities committed by both sides but again those that fight for their freedom can be forgiven. Those that deny freedom and when all else fails subscribe to genocide, can not!
One of the entries documents my grandfather’s regiment entering a village and finding the murdered schoolteacher and students.
The enemy, impotent in war as they were and in full retreat, slit the throats of the 28 year old female schoolteacher and 7 year old students (4 boys, 3 girls).
My grandfather never forgot, nor forgave such cowards.
When his regiment finally freed Thessaloniki, my grandfather was put in charge of district 2, supplies. He went from store to store from house to house ensuring that all families, Greek, Turkish, Bulgarian, Serbian, Montenegrin had adequate supplies to pass the cold winter. When the supplies from HQ ran out my grandfather used, with full consent of his superiors, his own regiment’s supplies.
Let me tell you about Stamos Stamos (yep, that’s his full name; so you can call him Stamos, Mr. Stamos, Master Stamos or Stamos “squared” without feeling that you have offended or misrepresented him in any way).
Stamosgot accidentally shot(he’s got two bullet holes in his back) by the cops in Athens (they thought he was someone else) and after recovering moved to the UK where he completed his education including an engineering degree from Plymouth University.
Stamos, along with some other Brits was hired by the big boss man who always had a knack for technical talent ( in Stamos’ class there was also a gent that lived about a block away from Johnny Steele, the Animals‘ drummer from Newcastle upon Tyne). These guys were sent to Montreal for training and that’s how Stamos and I became friends.
Stamos was always a man who forged his own future (I mean if you got shot and were this close to being paralyzed you would consider taking your own fate into your own hands, wouldn’t you?) so back in 90, he decided to stay in Montreal even though the rest of the Brits returned to London Guildford.
Stamos and I lived through a time when mobile communication was on the upswing. It was a time when you did what you did because you had a passion for it, a belief that even though you were making good money, you were also doing some good. Age played no role (we had a crew that ranged from early 20s to late 50s) and what counted was talent, insight, commitment, innovation, vision, perseverance, endurance and respect for experience and initiative.
When I was doing my tenure in Mexico, Stamos was building his house in Florida. When I was rushing to prevent outages in Buenos Aires, Stamos was laying systems in Caracas. We both got together and rolled out the first digital system in South America, in Chile. There was something good about witnessing a remote village being able to dial with a push of a button emergency medical services when in the past they relied on snail mail and word of mouth ( and very fast runners).
It was a time of vision and strategy, romance and reality, when the word “commodity” was restricted to rice, and engineering talent and initiative shone across the value chain (sorry, no room for Porgies at that time !). They were challenging times, but with a little faith you got through !
I mean, when you have to roll out 150 MSCs in a month, you need dedicated people don’t you? When you had to design a fix within 3 hours, and load it on a live switch to return the system to normal load levels (no errors allowed ’cause if the correction backfired and New York 1went down, (yeah the same switch that relayed a call to Big G. Bush from his wifefor the morning groceries)) you needed commitment (and of course a helluva lot of competence).
Stamos being a man that takes his future in his hands has decided to quit the business, leave Montreal and come on back home. He’s gonna be going down to Crete and he’s gonna be getting into a new endeavor along with other friends and family. He figures that he’s got to ride the next wave, the wave that’ll carry him for the next twenty so years.
Paul Krugman : MADRID, Spain — I’m concerned about Europe. Actually, I’m concerned about the whole world — there are no safe havens from the global economic storm. But the situation in Europe worries me even more than the situation in America. Just to be clear, I’m not about to rehash the standard American complaint that Europe’s taxes are too high and its benefits too generous. Big welfare states aren’t the cause of Europe’s current crisis. In fact, as I’ll explain shortly, they’re actually a mitigating factor. The clear and present danger to Europe right now comes from a different direction — the continent’s failure to respond effectively to the financial crisis. Europe has fallen short in terms of both fiscal and monetary policy: It’s facing at least as severe a slump as the United States, yet it’s doing far less to combat the downturn. On the fiscal side, the comparison with the United States is striking. Many economists, myself included, have argued that the Obama administration’s stimulus plan is too small, given the depth of the crisis. But America’s actions dwarf anything the Europeans are doing. The difference in monetary policy is equally striking. The European Central Bank has been far less proactive than the Federal Reserve; it has been slow to cut interest rates (it actually raised rates last July), and it has shied away from any strong measures to unfreeze credit markets. The only thing working in Europe’s favor is the very thing for which it takes the most criticism — the size and generosity of its welfare states, which are cushioning the impact of the economic slump. This is no small matter. Guaranteed health insurance and generous unemployment benefits ensure that, at least so far, there isn’t as much sheer human suffering in Europe as there is in America. And these programs will also help sustain spending in the slump. But such “automatic stabilizers” are no substitute for positive action. Why is Europe falling short? Poor leadership is part of the story. European banking officials, who completely missed the depth of the crisis, still seem weirdly complacent. And to hear anything in America comparable to the know-nothing diatribes of Germany’s finance minister you have to listen to, well, Republicans. But there’s a deeper problem: Europe’s economic and monetary integration has run too far ahead of its political institutions. The economies of Europe’s many nations are almost as tightly linked as the economies of America’s many states — and most of Europe shares a common currency. But unlike America, Europe doesn’t have the kind of continentwide institutions needed to deal with a continentwide crisis. This is a major reason for the lack of fiscal action: There’s no government in a position to take responsibility for the European economy as a whole. What Europe has, instead, are national governments, each of which is reluctant to run up large debts to finance a stimulus that will convey many if not most of its benefits to voters in other countries. You might expect monetary policy to be more forceful. After all, while there isn’t a European government, there is a European Central Bank. But the ECB isn’t like the Fed, which can afford to be adventurous because it’s backed by a unitary national government — a government that has already moved to share the risks of the Fed’s boldness, and will surely cover the Fed’s losses if its efforts to unfreeze financial markets go bad. The ECB, which must answer to 16 often-quarreling governments, can’t count on the same level of support. Europe, in other words, is turning out to be structurally weak in a time of crisis. The biggest question is what will happen to those European economies that boomed in the easy-money environment of a few years ago, Spain in particular. For much of the past decade Spain was Europe’s Florida, its economy buoyed by a huge speculative housing boom. As in Florida, boom has turned to bust. Spain needs to find new sources of income and employment to replace the lost jobs in construction. Does all this mean that Europe was wrong to let itself become so tightly integrated? Does it mean, in particular, that the creation of the euro was a mistake? Maybe. But Europe can still prove the skeptics wrong, if its politicians start showing more leadership. Will they?
The Dark Press : The last major financial crisis (the crash of ‘29) and resulting depression was resolved through the New Deal, which in itself was helped (financed) by American loans to war torn Europe. In other words European historic differences (the Galo – German frictions) which dated all the way back to Roman times (the Romans used Germanic cavalry to help conquer and subdue Gaul; the eventual feudal class in France were Franks, and thus the name France and not Gaul and of course the Jacobin resentment towards the Bourbons which were considered the “offspring of German Loins“) and the resulting economic pressures were used by some to trigger another world war helping some economically, but decimating a continent.
The creation of the EU had as a major goal (through the use of economics and trade relationships ex: France – Germany) to settle these European differences once and for all. Economics is one aspect of the European Union, but unity (in a step by step manner) is the major goal. As such, the euro was a correct tactical goal as was Schengen.
Dr. Krugman is in Athens this week helping the Greek government with its economic woes.
The Hellenic Olympic female Sprinter team (the Amazons) is rejuvenating its ranks.
In addition to Hrisopigi Devetzi,
Vasdekiand
Tsiamita,
the newest addition is the lovely miss Paraskevi PapaChristou who scored lately a 14,15m jump and has consistently displayed readiness for greater challenges.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Private equity company Blackstone Group LP CEO Stephen Schwarzman said on Tuesday that up to 45 percent of the world’s wealth has been destroyed by the global credit crisis.
“Between 40 and 45 percent of the world’s wealth has been destroyed in little less than a year and a half,” Schwarzman told an audience at the Japan Society. “This is absolutely unprecedented in our lifetime.”
But the U.S. government is committed to the preservation of financial institutions, he said, and will do whatever it takes to restart the economy.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner plans to unfreeze credit markets through a new program that will combine public and private capital in a fund that would buy bank toxic assets of up to $1 trillion.
“In all likelihood, that will have the private sector buy troubled assets to clean the banks out in terms of providing leverage … so that we can get more money back into the banking system,” Schwarzman said.
He expects the private sector to end up making “some good money doing that,” but added there were complex issues on how to price toxic assets.
He put part of the blame for the financial crisis to credit rating agencies.
“What’s pretty clear is that, if you were looking for one culprit out of the many, many, many culprits, you have to point your finger at the rating agencies,” he said.
Rating companies have been the focus of intense criticism for their role in granting top “AAA” ratings for complex bonds that later plummeted in value, resulting in subsequent rating cuts, in many cases to junk status.
“Once you bought into … the Triple A paper and it turned out to be paper that was in many situations going to end up defaulting, then you really had the makings of a global problem,” he said.
Schwarzman said problems were then exacerbated by mark-to- market accounting rules. Those rules ask banks and other financial institutions to price assets at a value related to how they would be sold in the open market.
Blackstone reported a quarterly loss in February after writing down the value of its portfolio and eliminated its fourth-quarter dividend.
Asked where was a good place to invest, Schwarzman said it made sense to buy cyclical names, which are less exposed to the economic cycles.
He said investors also may find value in debt products, including “senior layers of certain securitizations,” where investors can see 15 percent to 20 percent returns, he said.
Geographically, he said there were “pockets of strength” in China, which is committed to getting to an 8 percent growth level, and in India, where the economy is slowing but banks are in good shape.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Lawyers for jailed swindler Bernard Madoff argued for his release pending sentencing and a list of assets put he and his wife’s net worth between $823 million and $826 million, according to court papers filed on Friday.
Madoff, 70, was jailed on Thursday after pleading guilty to running the biggest investment fraud in Wall Street history that drew in as much as $65 billion over 20 years.
His sentencing on 11 criminal charges is scheduled for June 16, when he could be imprisoned for the rest of his life.
A three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York will hear oral arguments on March 19 on two motions by Madoff’s lawyers.
Court papers filed on Friday revealed the list of assets that Madoff provided on December 31 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which brought civil charges against the former Nasdaq stock market chairman.
The net value of Madoff’s ownership in his business, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC was $700 million, according to the list. It put the net worth of Bernard Madoff and Ruth Madoff at between $823 million and $826 million.
Madoff’s lawyer declined comment on the asset list, as did Peter Chavkin, a lawyer for Ruth Madoff.
Most of the assets listed were in Ruth Madoff’s name. Properties in Manhattan, Palm Beach, Florida, Antibes and France amounting to $19 million are in her name. The couple jointly owned a $3 million property on New York’s Long Island.
In a court filing in early March, their lawyers said $69 million in property and accounts belonged to her and was unrelated to the fraud, including the $7 million apartment where he was held under house arrest until Thursday.
ASSET FREEZE
Madoff’s business and personal assets were frozen following his December 11 arrest. A court-appointed trustee winding down the firm said last month he recovered about $946.4 million for former customers.
The asset list confirmed some of the properties and valuables such as jewelry and cars owned by the Madoffs, who have been married for nearly 50 years. The list showed legal fees of $100,000.
A yacht called “Bull” in France valued at $7 million is in Ruth Madoff’s name. A Rybovich fishing boat, also called “Bull” in Palm Beach, Florida, valued at $2.2 million belonged to Bernard Madoff.
Furniture, goods and fine art in his four residences, plus his office, total $9,920,522. A Steinway piano in their $7 million New York apartment is valued at $39,000 and, also in her name, is $65,000 in silverware, according to the list.
In summary, the list shows $22 million in real estate, $17 million in cash at Wachovia bank in Ruth Madoff’s name, and almost $10 million in furniture, goods and fine art.There is also $45 million in municipal bonds listed as belonging to Ruth Madoff at Cohmad Securities, a brokerage partly owned by Bernard Madoff, and a $12 million interest in a company charter aircraft.
Madoff’s new surroundings in a small cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan across the street from the federal courthouse where he pleaded guilty, is a far cry from the opulent lifestyle reflected in the asset list.
In the appeal, one motion aims to suspend an order made at Thursday’s plea proceeding by U.S. District Judge Denny Chin to revoke Madoff’s $10 million bail.
The panel will also hear a motion from the lawyers to reinstate his bail conditions.
“The District Court erroneously failed to release Mr. Madoff because the evidence clearly shows that Mr. Madoff is not a flight risk and does not pose a threat to the community,” a court document said.
It said Madoff does not have the means to flee.
The lawyers argued Madoff needs to be released so he could contribute to resolving a dispute over restitution and/or forfeiture.
“Mr Madoff’s contribution to this effort will be severely hampered, if not altogether eliminated, if he is remanded,” the lawyers said in the filing with the appeals court. They said Madoff “was the only person responsible for the crimes and, as a result, is the only person with the knowledge needed to decipher the relevant records.”
By : Dr. Kostas Mitropoulos ( President of the Board of Directors Eurobank EFG Telesis Finance)
The summer of 401 BC saw the battle of Cunaxa. Cyrus, Satrap of Lydia moved to overthrow his brother the Great King. Cyrus’ allies included the Great King’s mother (of all things!) as well as about 13500 Spartan troops under Clearchus. The Spartan contingent was loaned to the Satrap since it was believed that the Satrap’s move was within Greek (or at least Spartan) interests.
Well, the battle took place and Cyrus was killed, but the Spartan contingent managed to demolish the left flank of the immortals but with Cyrus gone, the victory was pointless.
After the disbandment of Cyrus’ army, the Spartan contingent was faced with a hostile environment (they were in Persian territory and about 800 klm from any allies), without a supply chain. Regardless, the Spartans within 18 months found themselves in Trapezus (where upon witnessing the black sea shouted Thalatta, Thalatta (the sea, the sea)) and finally Byzantium by the shores of the black sea, where once in Dorian controlled territory made their way back to the Peloponnese.
The whole predicament is documented by Xenophon in his celebrated book.The success of the Spartan trek back to Lacedaemon can be attributed to three major factors:
A tangible vision to hold on too. The Greeks did not want to die in the dry desserts of Lydia. They longed to see the Aegean, or at least the sea. This vision shared by all was translated into sheer will power for survival.
Discipline and a common culture, and commonly shared values. This meant that even when their leadership (Clearchus) was captured and executed by the Great King, the contingent was quick to vote in a new chief and start moving towards fulfilling their goal, which was survival.
A focused strategy to reach friendly territory in the north (the Dorian colonies of the Black Sea) with minimal casualties. The contingent generally followed the route of least resistance which meant that it had to change directions (tactics) many times sometimes heading west, and sometimes east. Regardless of tactical changes, the contingent always resumed its march towards the north.
These three points above are vital when it comes to surviving any type of crisis, whether economic, environmental, corporate or cultural.
A certain manager is assessed by an independent management consultant firm on behalf of the company that this manager works for. The manager has a historic record of over achievement with an excellent set of reference letters from former company presidents and other key company executives.
The result of the assessment is as follows:
The manager is rated as excellent in the areas for people, thought and organizational leadership, with an overall excellent rating for future leadership potential as per the leadership model of the organization.
After a year, the manager is made redundant and let go.
Long Term Evolution, commonly referred to as 4g (or at least an initiation into 4g) mobile, is the cellular’s industry adherance to an edge to edge ip network.
Long Term Evolution has been, directly or indirectly, about 14 years in the making when the cellular industry decided to slowly, but surely, abandon the circuit switched global title/ISDN/SS7 network (which had been around in one way or another since the beginning of the 1940s) and migrate to an all ip framework (GSM- GPRS-3G (incl. HSPA)-4G SAE/LTE).
LTE promises eventual speeds (with 4X4 MIMO) of about 326 Mbps downlink.
Now the reason for this post:
A number of LTE promotional materials state that LTE gives equivalent fixed line and better voice service. So what? That’s the wrong position for LTE in the same way that positioning MBMS as the mobile equivalent of IPTV. Don’t compare mobile radio propagation with fixed line systems. It raises expectations and puts a frame of mind that does not do mobile technology justice (more about this below).
Mobile throughput and quality will never be able to compete with state of the art fixed and should not be positioned to (marketing wise). Fixed technology is man controlled while mobile technology (propagation based) is always challenged by nature (propagation effects etc…). Also, if LTE boasts 100 Mbps downlink and 50 Mbps uplink, fixed can deliver via fiber 100Gbps symetrical. If mobile reaches 100 Gbps (which will require all available bandwidth that a country has) then fixed will top 100 Tbps.
Mobile technologies should be marketed for the benefit that they add, ie. that they offer mobility with an adequate infrastructure to accomodate the required services with resilience and certainty. Mobility is the key word and not a comparison to fixed
LTE goes a long way in offering mobility based broadband services. In addition, the flattened network will make it more manageable and less expensive to maintain. The fact that it rests (finally) on a common architecture/protocol (ip) implies that it can eventually align its roadmaps with other ip based systems, including an ip based fixed network (implying an eventual technical convergence to a common core network for fixed/mobile systems;this should interest the Deutche boys since they finally decided to merge their fixed and mobile operations).
LTE does not go a long way in opening up the network for general three party usuge, even though the IMS subsystem will indeed provide APIs to independent approved software developers. LTE is still very much a telecom network (and there ain’t nothing wrong with that !) and not an open network as many from the other side of the fence would’ve hoped. The fact that LTE is an IMS based network (implying SIP based central core network control) implies limitation to accomodating peer advancements and surrogate based technologies which are emerging rapidly and showing there effects on the edge of the network.
Most operators will upgrade their packet core network (SGSN, GGSN etcSN) towards the Evolved Packet Core functionality (initially this will be a pure software upgrade but eventually, once the CS functionality is totally removed, this will be replaced by high capacity routing mechanisms);eventually these boxes will be replaced by high capacity high speed dumb ip routers andthe mobility intelligence will reside in servers. This means that voice call handling (which will be ip based) will be nothing more than another software application.
Many label IMS as the “custer’s last stand” of the telecom world before relenquishing total control of the network to server based architectures riding a high speed ip network, and peers controlling the applications (or peer groups comprising the application). This implies that the network will carry data and the peers will decide whether that data is for them, ie whether they will participate in a particular application. In addition, may label IMS as trying to build faster sailboats when the industry is clearly heading towards steamships. This again remains to be seen.
In his monogram “Socrates – towards discovering ancient wisdom”the Platonist Giovanni Reale presents a new punto de vista on the life, works and character of the father of western thought. Indeed, the last chapter of Reale’s work is dedicated to Socrate’s wife, the enigmatic Xanthippe. By a thorough analysis of various sources including Plato, Critias, Xenophon, and Aristophanes (who consistently sarcastically portrays Socrates as a day dreaming cloud walker), Reale tries to present a realistic portrait of the philosopher, his life and his works, and to support the premise originally presented by 19th century historian and philosopher Shleiermacher that Socrates is indeed the father of western philosophy, and not just a dialectic figure used by Plato (as per Gigon). A good and thorough piece of work for those interested in the subject matter.
Having a strategy means that you know what you want, and you/ve decided on a way to get what you want. Its a good recipe for getting somewhere while not having a strategy is a sure shortcut to getting nowwhere.
Now many will state that they have a strategy, and that this strategy is fullproof.
Let me tell thee a tale nuncle :
The greatest mayor of all time, Pericles of Athens, had a strategy:
Athens was at war with Sparta (dummies…they would/ve done alot more if they stuck together, brethren that they were!). Athens’ core skill and power was its magnificent navy. Sparta’s was its invincible army.
Athens would build the long walls, and defend itself from the Spartan hoplite force by simply hiding behind the walls, while the navy took care of everything including supplies, while at the same time isolating Sparta from sourcing by a regional blockade of all merchant routes.
It was a full proof fail proof plan that would guarantee Athenian supremancy without heavy casualties since the Athenian army would never, in theory, spar with the superior Spartan troops.
Well, the plan initially worked well until the ships, which brought food and riches from the Athenian colonies and the east, also brought with them Colera (through the rodents that usually infest a ship) which devastated Athens (Colera works well in a sealed environment, such as a city surrounded by walls as many in the middle ages found out).
A full proof plan means that the strategist has perfect information.
There is no such thing as perfect information so there can be no such thing as a full proof plan.
Pericles was a master strategist. His strategy was sound insofar as the information Pericles had (Pericles was more than a master strategist. He was a genius both in strategy and its execution).
Pericles had no idea of course about bacteria and diseases that come with rodents that reside in ships, including the Athenian trireme and merchant ships. He did not have perfect information !
This was enough to render the plan catastrophic.
So the next time you here about someone insisting that they have a fool proof plan, think of Pericles and pack your bags and split !
The saying that “change is permanent” applies to the networks that support the way people communicate. There is more competition on the supply side, with more companies offering traditional telecom equipment, and new start ups offering other communication avenues. There is also strong change on the demand side since subscribers except more for less, drastically reducing the costs of a basic speech connection (with help from regulator authorities).
The need for broadband network is ever more evident and the thirst for ever increasing high speed connections and throughput is unquenchable. With high speed networks in place, profitable applications will surely follow. The more high speed throughput is delayed, the more innovative applications will be delayed and so will revenue substitutes to the price erosion experienced by basic voice call, which was in the past the bread and butter revenue generator of the communication network.
The next generation communication network will have the following characteristics:
It will be a high speed broad band network with architecture to allow speed increases more easily and less disruptively to subscribers and services.
It will offer various modes of access but under a common networkwith common management systems and security infrastructure (to enable faster intruder detection and associated actions)
It will be an actively secure network. This means that the systems and sentries in place will not be reactive but rather active with scenario and role playing to predict circumstances and avoid them.
It will easily accommodate new business and revenue models. Stronger communication devices with more powerful processors and enhanced memories means that peer to peer communication will become a strong motivator for new revenue models and revenue potential. The next generation communication network will support centralized control for important functions such as security and resource control, but will not discourage (but may even encourage) other communication architectures and methods.
It will follow the 80/80 rule, rather than the 80/20 rule. This applies mostly to the wireless side which in the past stated that 80 percent of the business comes from 20 percent of the subscribers. With the internet and new usage habits implying new peer applications, the network shall be designed so that 80 percent of the business will come from 80 percent of the customers. This means, especially on the wireless side, that the traditional GSM/3G architectures which are still based on heavy signaling, may not suffice to accommodate the eventual demand. Aflat architecture with distributed networking will be required (LTE is addressing this, to a certain point). Also, radio coverage based on cellular architecture may not suffice, due to the high number of stations required and the resultant radio pollution. New access methods and new propagation techniques will come into place to alleviate the resultant radio burden.
Finally, the resultant network will require a general architecture that resembles or evolves to a ambient network to allow easier evolution to next generation techniques as well as the ability to interface with other older networks, or networks with different characteristics, and be adaptive towards these networks when it comes to handling transient traffic in the best possible manner, and with a managed impact to both the quality characteristics and duration of that same traffic.
With a plethora of new devices, new ideas and new applications (for example: Kindle 2 and related e-books, bots and agents travelling throughout the network all the way to the mobile side, powerful interfaces having simulated humans as interfaces instead of avatars etc…) it is clear that most of the evolution pressures are occurring at the access point of a communication network. This gives any network operator a host of new revenue generation opportunities, which must not be impeded if the operator and communication industry is to survive the current effects of price erosion felt on the demand side and eventually diffusing to the supply side (in addition with the existing heavy supply competition). The only way to address this new reality is through change, implying the shedding of old outmoded concepts and taboos, and embracing new tools and ideas that will eventually lead to the next generation communication networks.
Every subscription gets a free copy of the e-book The Economics of “Shapelessness” dealing with the shape of things to come, which will be published by the Edinpress crowd and released in the summer of 09.
By : Galia Perez Simonetti(Political Scientist : International Relations Analyst)
Well PM Erdogan’s outburst in Davos is well known by now. Erdogan continued his hefty performance last week by indicating that he was ready to take “physical measures” against the panel moderator, because the panel moderator “patted” on the shoulder the Turkish PM.
A couple of notes on the manner:
Time will judge Israel’s actions and policies in the Middle East. Turkey however, with a couple of genocides on its roster as well as the pending Cyprus and Kurd questions is not really in a position to criticize Israel or to claim a peacekeeping/stabilizing role in the region.
Turkey needs Israel more than Israel needs Turkey. Turkey should not forget that it “rents” the powerful American Jewish lobby when it needs to put pressure on Washington, especially in regional issues where Turkey many times violates existing treaties.
Threats of violence by PM Erdogan to panel members, which are nothing more that a micro-situtation reflecting the macro Turkish political arena (and which are targeted for internal consumption) and gun boat politics towards her people and neighbors really fool no one and will get Turkey nowhere in the long run .
PM Erdogan should have been more careful, and forgiving, in his “tsampouka” towards President Perez. President Perez, a Nobel prize Laureate is well known for his peace keeping initiatives and work. Indeed, if Erdogan had showed a more understanding front with respect to Perez (his senior in terms of years and experience, and a man respected in the international community for his vision,culture and track record), this would’ve gotten Turkey further ahead in the international community than any gunboat ever can. But this kind of behaviour is generally absent in Turkish politics.
Although Turkey’s foreign policy boasts impressive tactics (marked by centuries of experience inherited from the Byzantine Empire and still following the tradition of the Phanariots), the resultant status of the country is a long way off from the role envisaged by noble Kemal Ataturk. Ataturk saw Turkey as a pure European/Secular democracy, firmly entrenched within European Evolution and an example of an excellent neighbor and progressive ally to be admired by both east and west. Ataturk, who was half Greek (his mother) stated at the time to Eleftherios Venizelos that he envisioned Greece and Turkey in the long run having preferred status trade and military relations. Inonu, after Ataturk’s strange passing away, changed that within a year, at Turkey’s long term cost.
Well here’s a very realistic view of what’s happening around the earth :
What you’re seeing (courtesy of the European Space Agency) is a computer representation of the traffic bottleneck caused by satellites and other debri put into orbit by this poor planet’s inhabitants. In addition to the satellites, this mess includes myriads of particles like lost screws, glue, plastic bags and anything else that “slipped” through during space work.
As an interesting sidenote, this problem was addressed in one of the early episodes of the television series U.F.O. (episode 6 : Conflict) where space travel was deemed hazardous due to the man placed space junk orbiting the planet.
After losing his entire life’s savings to disgraced fund manager Bernard Madoff, 90-year-old Ian Thiermann abandoned retirement and now works the aisles of a grocery store to make ends meet.
Handing out fliers hawking avocados and pork ribs at a supermarket in Ben Lomond, California, Thiermann is one of many facing dramatic lifestyle changes after losing their savings in Madoff’s suspected $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
Thiermann wasn’t even aware he had invested with Madoff until December 15, when a friend who managed his investments called him on the telephone. “He said, ‘I’ve lost everything and you have lost everything.’” For Thiermann, that meant $750,000.
Days after the release of a list of thousands of Madoff customers — from Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Sandy Koufax to actor John Malkovich — a picture is emerging of a scandal that has reverberated far beyond America’s still-wealthy to those who have lost nearly everything.
And swept up in the pain are many who should be savoring the twilight of their lives in peaceful retirement rather than scrambling for a living.
Thiermann, owner of a pest-control company in Los Angeles before retiring 25 years ago, enjoyed returns of 10 to 12 percent each year on his savings for about 15 years regardless of whether markets rose or fell. He lived on those returns, devoting much time to nonprofit work.
“We don’t have any cash reserves now. And we still owe money on our houses,” he said in a telephone interview. He learned of his losses while shopping in a local grocery store with his wife, Terry.
“The store manager who we know very well said, ‘What’s wrong?’ We said, ‘Have you heard about this Madoff?’ And he said, ‘Oh my god!” Thiermann explained. “I now work there as a beginner and I deeply appreciate it.”
About 2,490 miles to the east in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Maureen Ebel has also surrendered a comfortable retirement, and works as a cleaner after losing her family savings of $7.3 million to Madoff.
On December 17, six days after learning of her losses, the 60-year-old widow found work cleaning the home of a friend and caring for a 93-year-old woman. Ebel’s husband, a doctor, died in 2000 at age 53. The former nurse is also selling her luxury Lexus SUV and a winter home in Florida.
“I HELD ONTO MY DOG AND I CRIED“
“On the first day I went to work, after pushing that vacuum cleaner around, I came home and said to myself ‘this is what my life has come to,’ and I held onto my dog and I cried,” Ebel said in a telephone interview.
In Pompano Beach, Florida, 73-year-old Irwin Salbe also expects to return to work after losing about 75 percent of his investment portfolio to Madoff, who according to court documents confessed to his sons on December 10 that the firm’s investment-advisory business was “basically a giant Ponzi scheme.”
Such schemes use money from new investors to pay distributions and redemptions to existing investors.
Salbe said his family investments with Madoff date back to the 1960s, although he declined to say exactly how much.
“We were pretty heavily in it with my children and my grandchildren. They all had accounts with mine. We’re all in it and it’s substantial,” he said.
“Now we’re downsizing. I had two cars. We’ve gotten rid of one. I’ve canceled some trips. I’ve reduced my expenses with every opportunity. We don’t eat out like we did. If we go out, we got to a neighborhood place like for a pizza,” he said.
“I used to get my income from there. Now, there’s no more expensive dinners. I don’t hug my kids anymore like I used to,” he said. “The image of Madoff’s main clientele is of rich people. That’s not true. A lot of people have been devastated like me,” said Salbe, who had met Madoff several times.
Salbe, a general manager for a newspaper and magazine distribution company in New York before retiring in 1991, inherited the Madoff investments when his father died in 1984. Over the years, he poured in his own money and eventually parked his entire retirement savings with Madoff.
“I’m going to definitely have to go back to a part-time job,” he said.
EVAPORATED SAVINGS
In Wisconsin, Abby Frucht ponders the fate of her parents, whose $1 million in life’s savings seemingly evaporated with the collapse of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, Madoff’s investment-advisory business. Her parents lived off the money in a retirement home in Sante Fe, New Mexico.
“My dad is 85 and my mom is 79. We don’t know how long they can stay there. We’re working that out now,” she said.
Her father suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and may not fully comprehend what’s happening, she said in a telephone interview. “They are very elderly and can’t possibly go back to work. They are very comfortable and happy where they are.”
Her parents have enough savings to stay in New Mexico another two months. After that, they may have no choice but to move in with her in Wisconsin. “My sisters and I have power of attorney over them so we have been putting our heads together to try and find a way to keep our parents comfortable.”
Some want industry regulators or the government to pay.
After losing money to Madoff, Lawrence Velvel, dean of the Massachusetts School of Law, said both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority could be held liable for investors’ losses.
“The brokerage industry is responsible for this because these are the people that caused all of this,” he said.
War or no war, these sure winners are studying in the demolished remnants of a building, in the Gaza Strip. Since a number of the district schools have been destroyed, students are forced to hold open air classes and study in abandoned areas such as this one.
Well, the Chinese are discovering the magic of Laissez Faire Market economies. The pic depicts Chinese blue and white collar workers posting their resumes/specializations on the sidewalk of Jengu Streen in the South Western province of Scetchuan.
At the same time, the Chinese government notifies through its official information ministry that the return of the general population from the New Moon Holiday (a traditional leisure time in China) will be irregular, since 20 million of those returning will be populating the unemployment line, rather than some work related function. This due to the world economic crisis which has struck with full force the Chinese economy.
Mirella Viser, president of the European Arm of the European Professional Women’s Networkwas the guest of honor at a dinner organized recently by the Greek American Chamber of Commerce (GACC). Mrs Viser confirmed the fact (based on research results provided by the GACC) that more and more women are succesfully populating executive positions within corporations and government, and gave examples of women board members that “move mountains“.
Mrs. Viser had for many years served as board member of ING Asian arm in Hong Kong, and in 2007 was recommended by The Economist for the title of European of the Year and Campaigner of the Year for her work in promoting women’s rights in the workplace, and specifically in executive positions in Europe
Every subscription gets a free copy of the e-book The Economics of “Shapelessness” dealing with the shape of things to come, which will be published by the Edinpress crowd and released in the summer of 09.
IndyMedia, is a site that usually presents a more radical point of view than most political , or politically oriented sites.
IndyMedia has spawned controversy lately by publishing a communication from sub minister of Education Mr. Spiros Taliadourou towards the Dean of the National Polytechnic Institute of Athens (NTUA) where the said minister is requesting that the Engineering School pin point and decommission the server that hosts the IndyMedia website. This issue was raised in the Greek National Assembly by LAOS representative Belonopoulos who indicated that the “pirate” sites are housed in both the NTUA’s and Patra Polytechnic institutes premises and that the said site was never authorized for operation by both schools.
Proponents of IndyMedia view this as another attempt by government to silence alternative points of view.
IndyMedia, aside from its aggressive critisisms of the government, has been noted to host economic commentaries and discussions with respect to various left wing theoriticians, such as the legendary Yiannis Hontzeas.
At that time, the Canadian Government had put a high priority on completing the transcontinental railway that would tie the country together from coast to coast. One of the main reasons for this was the ability to carry troops to the various parts of the Dominion, as necessity required (Canada was still recovering from the aftershock o the Metis revolt, as well as the problem of Americans crossing over and populating parts of the prairies and western territories).
The Lund farm, which belonged to a Swedish Imigrant couple, was one of the places that Canadian Pacific engineers would spend sometime resting and reassembling.
As a token of gratitude to the Swedish hospitality, the CPR engineers requested that they name the railway stop and town, the “Lund” stop. Mrs. Julia Lund, being (as is common with Swedish culture) modest suggested that they name the town after her favorite composer, Mozart.
And thus the town of Mozart Saskatchewan was born.
Last week, a Greek court ruled that the local university accreditation body, known as DOATAP has no mandate on using geography as an accreditation parameter. This in regard to local colleges that have been licensed by accredited European universities and that operate in Greece (DOATAP recognizes distance learning programs as long as the university offering the programs is an accredited institution).
This ruling occurred shortly after one of the said colleges took the matter to The European Court which resulted in the court ruling in favor of the college and against the stand of the Greek government (DOATAP).
DOATAP, whose predecessor the notorious scandal plagued DIKATSA, is responsible for accrediting degrees issued by foreign education institutions. DOATAP is under heavy pressure by the EU and under heavy criticism, as was its predecessor, in using tactics that result in misaligned policies with respect to the general higher education European framework
The main issue seems to be a short sighted short term strategy by the Greek government, the ministry of education, and of course its accreditation arm DOATAP. In an effort to protect local shops, DOATAP has accumulated a number of protectionist measures (in an era of globalization and free trade of all things !) to shield its education institutions and trade organizations (for example the order of engineers of Greece, TEE) from foreign competition. So the Greek government is victim to the same strategic error that a number of corporations make. The government is trying to drown, or keep out the competition, instead of revamping and renovating its institutions and allowing them to compete freely. The government doesn’t seem to understand that the best defense is offense, and that you cannot eliminate competition, or sweep it under the rug. The more you ignore it, the more powerful it will become eventually resulting in a tidal wave of change that will break down any wall of resistance, and overwhelming even the most solid of institutions.
In the case of engineers, DOATAP still maintains the “DIKATSA” strategy of accreditation equality purely through the number of years of study. DOATAP does not consider post secondary education and course content. For example, if you have a 4 year B.Eng. from a number 1 institution (example Berkelee or M.I.T.) DOATAP does not accredit the said degree as equal to the one offered by the local engineering schools (5 year diploma), even though the curricula of the said institutions may be superior to the local ones. Since the foreign institution presents a 4 year program, and the local institution boasts a 5 year program the DOATAP rules that equivalence will only be gained by the degree holder participating in a year of study in a local university (even though the sum of years and content may be covered by the foreign institutions secondary or pre-university curricula, which in sum is equal if not more to the number of years of totally secondary and tertiary education in Greece)
This short sighted strategy (ie. Protectionism vs. ensuring competitive institutions) has led to a number of unforeseen results. First, graduates from foreign institutions, who are not accredited from DOATAP are barred from the civil service. This has led to most seeking employment in the private sector, and achieving high level positions in the private sector. In turn, these same overachievers prefer employees from foreign universities while local graduates crowd to staff the civil service. So you have barred foreign graduates making all the bucks, and local graduates populating the civil service where the pay is considerably lower but maintaining the policies that put them there. A similar situation existed after the Greek civil war where most right wind supporters staffed the civil service while most communist followers were forced to drift to private enterprise. The end result was that after a couple of years, the communist supporters were considerably wealthy, while the right wind civil servants were still supported by “working class” wages.
Finally, many wonder as to why these private colleges exist (were allowed to operate) in the first place, and why there seems to be so much demand for them? Is it because there are lower entrance barriers? Is it because they have excellent uptodate and clean facilities? Is it because they are not plagued by strikes, riots ? Is it because when you enter, you usually know the date you will graduate assuming you successfully complete the required curricula? Indeed the answer may include all of the above and many more reasons. As the present situation stands, colleges offering post secondary programs from accredited institutions report to the ministry of commerce, and not to the ministry of education.
As one college owner said : “ The government is basically saying to us that yes we want a piece of your profits, but no we won’t allow you to get any official credit for the work that you’re doing”. This is the case even though some top level ministers have a habit of participating in the graduation ceremony of some of these colleges, and even administering honoring titles to top students.
Some of the major tech companies are scheduling layoffs for 2009. Initial rumours pointed to a 15000 job slash at Microsoft but this was denied by the company saying that the cuts would be fewer, and that the largest software developer in the world would seek other ways to trim costs. Microsoft currently employees around 91,000. Questions about massive layoffs at IBM still persist, and
Google (the owner of the largest web search engine) has announced the reduction of its workforce by 100, mainly in the recruitment sector. This is of particular strategic importance since this function is mainly involved in attracting top talent from universities and the industry at large.
The bad news in Telecom continues (following Nortel’s bankruptcy and chapter 11 proceedings) as Swedish Telecom Giant LM Ericsson announced today further layoffs (4000 worldwide and 1000 in Sweden; Total of 5000) as part of cost reducing measures.LM Ericsson on Wednesday said profits dropped 31 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008, citing restructuring charges and weaker handset sales.
Ericsson said net profit fell to 3.9 billion kronor (US$465 million) from 5.6 billion a year earlier (2007). It reported “a dramatic drop” in the contribution from its handset unit, Sony Ericsson. The joint venture with Japan’s Sony last week said it had swung to a fourth-quarter loss (2008) of euro187 million ($243 million).
For the full year 2008, it posted a profit of 11.3 billion kronor, nearly half the 21.8 billion kronor reported for 2007.
Ericsson predicts that cost-reducing measures in 2009 will save the company about 10 billion Swedish krona ($1.2 billion) In a webcast news conference with analysts and journalists, Mr.Svanberg (Ericsson CEO) said “we’re doing this of course because of the uncertainty in the market.”
Amongst the many challenges for the Swedish infrastructure supplier is the increased competition faced on the supply side. For exampleSwedish operator TeliaSonera will launch mobile services based on LTE (Long Term Evolution) during 2010. A roll-out in Stockholm and Oslo is under way using equipment from Ericsson (Stockholm) and Huawei(Oslo).
Panasonic, in its turn, is shutting down 27 factories and firing 15000 workers (to begin with). This is in response to losses experienced after 6 years of continuous profitable operations. Panasonic speculatedthat its losses will amount to 4,3 billion dollars us (due in part to restructuring costs), and that its sales are expected to shrink about 15% for the fiscal year 2008, ending March 31 2009.
Panasonic is currently following the strategy that was initially forged by its competitor Sony, which cancelled thousands of positions and shut down factories, a strategy aimed at surviving the current economic/retail tempest.
Panasonic believes that for fiscal year 2009, revenue will decrease a further 8,8% due in part to lack of demand of its core product , television. A turnaround (based on Credit Suisse forecasts) is not expected for Panasonic until 2010.
The smooth inauguration of, and power transition to the 44rth president of the United States may , in time, bring positive change for technology as it did in the case of President Clinton (the information superhighway) and Vice President Gore. President Obama is commonly referred to as Mr. BlackBerry (BigMike Lazaridis is surely smiling) because of his heavy use wirelessdevices in his daily communications. President Obama’s team has also constructed a public website in order to facilitate and encourage citizen feedback.
Mobile Entertainment Service Market to Increase threefold to $64bn by 2012 . Music, games and mobile TV will be the major contributors to the global mobile entertainment market which will rise to more than $64 billion by 2012. Other mobile entertainment sectors include User-generated Content, Gambling, Adult and Infotainment.
Mobile music will remain the largest single sector of the mobile entertainment industry over the next five years. Revenues from music will to $17.5 billion in 2012, bolstered by the increasing availability of full-track download and streamed services, the former in both paid-for and rental formats.
Likewise, mobile games will retain its second-ranking in terms of end-user generated revenues: boosted by rapid growth in mass market “casual” gaming, revenues are expected to rise to nearly $16 billion in 2012.
Among next generation technologies, mobile TV will gain more and more momentum, as mobile users get lots of useful content including information, films and other entertainment related content on their mobiles. Many mobile network operators worldwide have rolled out commercial mobile TV services already, and consumers are becoming more discerning in their demand. The number of mobile TV users in the Asia Pacific region is expected to be around 25 m by the beginning of 2009. While India has already emerged as the fastest growing telecom market in the world, mobile TV will generate additional revenue stream for service providers and content providers. Though the number of triple-play services users will be less than simple voice and data users, the revenue generated by mobile TV will be very high as mobile TV services will be costlier than the simple services. Various stakeholders, including service providers, content providers, and advertisers benefit from service fees, content fees, advertising and paid interactions such as games, videos, and seasonal greetings.Mobile TV should see the market rise to $11.9 billion in 2012
According to Dr Windsor Holden, “With revenues from voice services declining and messaging revenues flat lining, last year finally saw a number of more sophisticated entertainment services begin to fulfill their potential and redress the balance. With more widespread penetration of 3G handsets – or entertainment-focused 2.5G handsets like the iPhone – there is likely to be a much greater surge in both the adoption and overall usage in rich media services.”
Other findings include:
• Regulations and prohibitions will limit opportunities in the adult and gambling sectors, although restrictions on gambling services will ease in the medium term
• China and the Far East will remain the largest regional market for mobile entertainment throughout the period , with revenues rising to nearly $21.3bn by 2012
• Entertainment service adoption remains constrained by difficulties with the user interface, network speed and coverage and the excessive cost of data services
On the other hand, The world’s first Mobile TV, SDMB, was launched in 2004 followed by TDMB in 2005 with the hope of rapid change of user habits to so that broadcasting on a mobile device would become a popular affair.
The initial results in Korea (as they were in Europe in the 2006 – 2007 timeframe) were not very encouraging.
In the Korean Case, even though DMB viewers are projected to be more than 30 m by 2012, the related operators are still operating the DMB service at a loss.
The unsatisfactory business performance can be traced to :
1. Weak revenue model
TDMB is solely based on Advertising revenue (ie. A clear television business model) but because of the limited viewer base is unattractive as a marketing medium for advertisers.
2. Poor contents
Mobile TV is a personal media, for which viewers watch only in specific situations such as in the subway etc. But the TDMB players are mostly terrestrial broadcasters retransmitting unoriginal or syndicated content. Attempts to produce original material suited or targeted for mobile media failed to produce the required economies of scale which in turn attracted less viewers and entered a negative spiral (or a catch 22).
3. An unbundled bundled mess
Attempts were made to publish bundled services (such as navigation) with the core offering (broadcast content). But inconsistent strategies non coherent diverging strategies by the parties involved resulted in an ineffective incoherent strategy which led nowhere.
The European Commission’s approach:
Mobile TV is a new service platform for transmitting audiovisual content – and associated interactive services, in particular in association with 3G services – to a mobile device. The 2007 Communication indicated the main elements of a European strategy for mobile TV with a view to facilitating the
click to download free LTE ebook
take-up of these innovative services across the Union. One of the key elements is the regulatory environment. Legal certainty is paramount for operators to take investment decisions, especially with respect to new, innovative technologies such as mobile TV; early investors in particular need to be reassured that they will not be subject to unforeseen constraints at a later stage. Other elements of the EU strategy include the recognition that DVB-H will be the standard for terrestrial mobile TV in Europe (DVB-H was added to the list of official standards of the European Union on 17 March 20083), and the call for frequencies to be granted to mobile TV services in the UHF band, notably on the occasion of the refarming of this band in the context of the digital dividend. On the other hand, interoperability concerns still need to be tackled by industry and the Commission’s services will monitor developments closely and assess the need for a policy initiative.
Mobile TV lies at the heart of convergence. This means that at EU level, mobile TV is subject to two sets of rules, governing transmission and content: the e-communications framework, including aspects related to spectrum policy, and the new Audiovisual Media Services Directive. This Communication addresses authorisation models at national level only with reference to the e-communications aspects of national regulatory regimes, and does not touch upon content licences. It summarises the main results of the fact-finding exercise and indicates best practice examples with regard to the main elements of the authorisation regimes for mobile TV. This is intended to serve as a basis for further discussion and exchange of best practice among national authorities.
Legal Framework for Mobile TV Networks and Services:
(from the commission report)
3.4. Specific aspects
At this early stage of development of the market, it would appear desirable that any specific conditions attached to authorisations are appropriate and avoid imposing unnecessary burdens on operators.
3.4.1. “Must-carry” rules
In accordance with European legislation, “must-carry” obligations can only be imposed if a significant number of end-users of a network use it as their principal means to receive radio and television broadcasts. At present, mobile TV is still in its start-up phase; “must-carry”rules may not be imposed on mobile TV at this stage. At any rate, channels benefiting from must-carry are also often “must-have” channels, which actually increase the commercial value for the distribution services and are likely to be included in any main mobile TV bouquet.
Communication, national regulatory authorities could usefully envisage “must offer” rules for mobile TV as a nascent service needing attractive content.
3.4.2. Network Infrastructure Sharing
Network infrastructure sharing is an important element to minimise roll out costs and increase coverage and transmission capacity. As stated in the 2007 Communication, Member States may consider permitting network infrastructure sharing and encouraging co-location when this is needed to facilitate network deployment. Co-location may also be imposed where necessary to address possible environmental concerns.
3.4.3. Interoperability and roaming
The objective of full interoperability across networks and devices remains important in order to make possible EU-wide roaming where appropriate, and interoperable solutions should be favoured. Developments in the market have shown that interoperability can be achieved when stakeholders act together with a common aim of implementing a technical standard such as DVB-H. Efforts are currently being made in this respect in industrial and standardisation fora, notably focusing on the services and applications layers.
Furthermore, the wireless nature of mobile TV means that consumers will legitimately expect devices to work across borders, as is the case with “roaming” mobile telephony. EU-widemobile TV roaming is likely to gain importance as the take-up of services grows across Europe. It should also be recalled that some cross-border or pan-European channels are already available today and can provide an important test-bed for future pan-European services. The launch of DVB-SH based mobile satellite TV services is expected for next year in Europe.
The Technologies
MBMS (Mobile Broadcast MultiCast Service)
At present, mobile TV content is streamed to mobile terminals/handsets in a point-to-point connection, which is not cost-effective. A point-to-multipoint communication can broadcast the same content to a large number of viewers. This is where MBMS or Mobile Broadcast Multicast Service steps in to help the network operators. MBMS is standardized by 3GPP as part of the WCDMA evolution and will be available for both GSM/EDGE and WCDMA connections. In MBMS, with point-to-multipoint (PTM) paradigm, ideal for mobile TV, data packets are simultaneously transmitted from a single source to multiple destinations. Unlike in the unicast paradigm, where data packets are transmitted from a single source to a single person. The MBMS technology allows a group of people interested in a particular program, in a particular area, to watch the same program simultaneously, via both existing GSM as well as UMTS networks. The MBMS technology supports HSPA in a situation where higher loads have to be transmitted in dense areas, saving significant network capacity and enabling a more efficient use of network resources, which ultimately results in cost saving for network operators. MBMS is also included as a supported technology in Long Term Evolution.Today, most mobile TV services worldwide are based on two-way point-to-point data transmission using unicast. Once MBMS is introduced commercially, which is expected in this year, the same content can be delivered to a mass number of terminals in a single transmission via multicast. But it doesn’t mean that the introduction of MBMS will invalidate unicast. While MBMS can be used for the most popular programs for a registered multicast group, unicast can be used to deliver on-demand videos to the same group in a cost-effective way. This unique unicast-MBMS model will help achive personalization as well as delivering content to a mass market.
As MBMS requires only minor changes to the existing radio and core network protocols, it reduces the implementation cost of infrastructures like terminals and networks. With its capacity-boosting features, MBMS aims at stimulating the development of new and mobile mass-media services, generating revenue opportunity for network operators and content providers. It will enable service providers to offer cost-effective triple-play services for mobile handheld devices over a common service and network infrastructure.
Before MBMS is introduced in the market, device manufacturers also have to come up with low-power consuming cell phone batteries, essential to support data intensive applications, and handsets for high memory capacity to support the high buffer requirements of mobile TV.
DVB-H
When DVB-T was first published in 1997, it wasn’t designed to target mobile receivers. However, following very positive experimental results, DVB-T mobile services were launched in Singapore and Germany, with extensive commercial trials elsewhere. Indeed, with the advent of diversity antenna receivers, services which target fixed reception can now largely be received on the move as well. So why DVB-H? Battery life! Despite the success of mobile DVB-T reception, the major concern with any handheld device is that of battery life. Power consumption of DVB-T front ends is too high to support handheld receivers that are expected to last from one to several days on a single charge. The other major requirements for DVB-H is the ability to receive 15Mbit/s in an 8MHz channel and in a wide area single frequency network (SFN) at high speed. These requirements were drawn up after much debate and with an eye on emerging convergence devices providing video services and other broadcast data services to 2.5G, 3G and future handheld devices. Furthermore, all this should be possible while maintaining maximum compatibility with existing DVB-T networks and systems. In order to meet the above requirements, the DVB-H specification includes: Time-Slicing Rather than continuous data transmission as in DVB-T, DVB-H employs a mechanism where bursts of data are received at a time – a so-called IP datacast carousel. This means that the receiver is inactive for much of the time, and can thus, by means of clever control signalling, be “switched off”. The result is a power saving of some 90% and more in some cases.
4K-mode With the addition of a 4K mode with some 3409 active carriers, DVB-H benefits from the compromise between the high-speed small-area SFN capability of 2K DVB-T and the lower speed but larger area SFN of 8K DVB-T. In addition, with the aid of enhanced in-depth interleavers in the 2K and 4K modes, DVB-H has even better immunity to ignition interference.
MPE-FEC The addition of an optional, multiplexer level, forward error correction scheme means that DVB-H transmissions can be even more robust. This is advantageous when considering the hostile environments and poor but sexy antenna designs typical of handheld receivers. Like DVB-T, DVB-H can be used in 6, 7 and 8 MHz channel environments. However, a 5MHz option is also specified for use in non-broadcast environments. A key initial requirement, and a significant feature of DVB-H, is that it can co-exist with DVB-T in the same multiplex. Thus, an operator can choose to have 2 DVB-T services and one DVB-H service in the same overall DVB-T multiplex. DVB-H today encompasses a powerful tool to address new markets for DVB services.
WiMax Based
The evolution from 3G to 4G (non LTE) is set to be stimulated by services that offer enhanced quality. Quality indicators span increased bandwidth, elevated sophistication in terms of large-scale information provision, and improved customization capabilities. The maturity of key 4G technologies such as OFDMA, MIMO, and optimized MAC scheduling algorithms realize a range of desirable features. These include enhanced handover and mobility, major infrastructure design requirements that promote a rapid response, elevated session rates, increased capacity, reduced user charges, swift return on investment (ROI) for operators, and simplified autonomous terminals. WiMAX, in this context, describes an interesting choice for pre-4G technology. Its rapid time to market provides an ALL IP flat network solution that can complement existing 2G/3G networks so as to deliver mobile TV and video services with a guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS). Based on the mobile access methods mentioned above, there exist a variety of competing technologies that are available for mobile TV service provision. The three main categories cover mobile and broadcast networks and DVB-SH for satellite. The availability of multiple broadcasting technologies offers operators more options to choose from, and vendors richer experiences in mobile TV solutions. Additionally, the competition between different technologies is necessary to promote the development of mobile TV. Given that 3G networks are currently under utilized, some mobile operators are offering streamed TV and video content at highly attractive prices to encourage consumers to adopt and use their services. WiMAX TDD, which operates under a duplexing mode, is best suited for data applications and advanced antenna technologies. The rapid scheduling of uplinks and downlinks realizes bandwidth requirements for different applications. Flexible and diversified mobile TV and video service business models are facilitated, which results in maximized profit margins for operators.
The WiMAX Forum MCBCS sub team has been aggressively pursuing related standard development. In terms of network deployment, operators are broadly concerned with economic development, rapid ROI coupled with a long-term evolution potential that protects investment, device availability, appropriate pricing, and smooth upgrade capabilities can accommodate nascent applications. WiMAX is based upon a 2-layer ALL IP network architecture and is widely regarded as a cost-effective means to provide VoIP and data services. The WiMAX Forum is committed to enabling MCBCS with minimal changes to existing networks in order to support mobile TV & video. Mobile WiMAX claims a long-term and smooth transition route towards 802.16m, which allows a network to support peak data rates with at least 6.5bps/Hz for downlinks, and 2.8bps/Hz for uplinks. Particularly with 802.16m, a dedicated carrier will be allocated for MCBCS. Optimized switching between broadcast and unicast services can be achieved, and the maximum MCBCS channel reselection interruption time is 1 second for intra frequency and 1.5 seconds for inter frequency. The above analysis underpins the belief that 3G-based enterprises should boost ARPU by taking advantage of the unused capacity and availability that can be found in multicast broadcast technology. This can fulfill the needs of mobile TV & video service users who form a third of the mobile Internet market. However, both unicast and multicast based on a non MBMS 3G network may be prohibitive in a mass market context. High levels of investment are necessary for the deployment of proprietary mobile TV technologies based on satellite networks. Satellite, therefore, is only a temporary or complementary choice to broadcast architectures. WiMAX MCBCS, claims to render multicast cost-competitive with broadcast technology, and it is scalable to serve the mass market. Thus, it forms a long term solution for the mass consumption of mobile TV & video applications.
On the access network side, there are base stations (BSs) and a gateway. In the core network, a MBS Controller (MBSC) is connected to the content server that can operate under the control of an operator or a third party. AAA is employed to perform authentication and authorization with appropriate user profile information, collect billing information, and then send it to the Business Operation Support System (BOSS). The two ways to provide mobile TV are through unicast and broadcast, and they differ in three basic aspects: channels (dedicated or common), requirements (individual or general), and tariffs (high or low). Mobile TV services usually embody a basic service need in the form of programs with mass appeal. Examples include live sporting events and real-time news. Payto- view prime time programs target a given user group with specific interests, and these are not necessarily live programs. Therefore, Wimax deployment (as in the case of MBMS) suggests using broadcast for basic services and unicast for targeted services.
Social Powered Audio Visual Architecture:
From the mobile TV multi media technologies stated above, MBMS seems to be the closest to allowing enhanced user/crowd controlled interaction. Indeed MBMS (if at some point suppliers abandon their walled garden approach and “open” there tcp stack towards other internet applications) is the technology that can most easily be adapted to the prevailing web 2.0 requirements which are :
Participation: social networks, recommendations, blogging, user generated content, collaborative filtering, profile correlation, ranking, folksonomies, tag clouds
Standards: standards for application andservice interaction similar to web services, XML, or common AJAX principles
Decentralization: power and flexibility from distribution, computing, and support of assets and applications over many computers and systems rather than centralized maintenance
Openness: creating critical mass and shortening innovation cycles through open and transparent access to assets and applications
Modularity: flexible combination of modules creates value that is greater than the sum of its parts
Reusability: recycling, deconstruction, and reconstruction of assets and applications for new services, functions, and assets
User Control: give users control to participate, but also control about their the assets and applications they create, their activities, and their identities
Identity: allow control and application of different identities for different purposes
The user participation, openness, and decentralization should not be mistaken for loss of control over access or usage of assets and applications. Mobile TV defines one more enabler of digital entertainment. As such, its positioning has to support the control of a strategic business alignment of technologies, markets, and content.
While DVB-H is a pure broadcast technology, with an established business model and a strong marketing research reference (ie. 50 + years of television) MBMS (and even more so WiMAx mobile tv offerings) is caught in a crossfire. On the one hand MBMS is an interactive technology (like IPTV) but on the other hand, the strategy (position and evolutionary) followed by telecom suppliers (they are after all telecom suppliers) is that of a broadcast technology. The result of this strategy is that MBMS ends up as a hotel video on demand service on a handheld when clearly users have indicated other preferences and usage habits for mobile (handheld) multimedia (example : citizen journalism) as opposed to fixed (IPTV) multi media. This may dangerously push MBMS towards oblivion if steps are not take to re-examine, rethink and realign the positioning of this excellent technology.
The ravishing miss Sarah Longair graduated from Heriot Watt University in 2002 with a degree in Math and Finance, specializing in statistical numerical analysis. While engaging her 4rth year of studies, Sarah was accepted on the Stagecoach graduate recruitment program and through hard work and insight, is now the current Operations Director for the West of Scotland. Sarah’s success can be partly attributed to her tenure as an undergrad at Heriot Watt, a tenure which included opportunities for self development and an approach that catered to individual skills. This allowed her to relate better to Stagecoach’s corporate culture which favors innovation and centers around a culture that nurtures progressive thinking and leadership.
Finally, Sarah is planning to work on a project which is part of the UK Government’s Green Travel Plan, and includes a tax free travel scheme which corporations can provide to their staff.
Congratulations Sarah, and all the best for the New Year.
Information about the local Ambassador’s of the Heriot Watt M.B.A. program here !
For many executives let go in corporate restructurings and cutbacks, finding work is the greatest test of their careers. Yet they have not lost spirit, and an exclusive survey shows that most are winding up in new — and often better-paying — jobs.
By Peter Nulty REPORTER ASSOCIATES Patricia A. Langan and Kathleen Carroll Smyth
For 17 years Joseph Rockom, 47, climbed the rungs of American Microsystems Inc., a semiconductor manufacturer in California’s Silicon Valley. Diligence and loyalty won him the rank of vice president and chief financial officer. Rockom’s company was hurting, and its parent, Gould Inc. of Chicago, was getting frustrated. ”I could feel what was coming,” he says. To cut costs, American Microsystems started laying off managers. One morning he was conducting a staff meeting when the division president walked in, postponed the meeting, and escorted Rockom to the president’s office. ”As soon as I sat down,” says Rockom, ”I thought uh-oh, I’m getting fired. As the president delivered the news, my mind wandered. I was thinking that in six months I would look back and be glad.”
AS IT TURNED OUT, Rockom’s quest for a new employer took far longer. And he isn’t alone. Tens of thousands of executives are being thrown out of work, even as the economy enters its fifth consecutive year of expansion, in an unprecedented wave of shrinking and realignments that is part of the restructuring of corporate America. At AT&T, Exxon, General Electric, and other companies once regarded as havens of career stability, the managerial ranks are beginning to resemble those of the Light Brigade after its charge. Although the casualties continue to mount, executives in imperilled jobs or already out on the street can take heart. An exclusive survey makes clear that most who are shown the door land elsewhere. Sometimes they are better off than before, though not before enduring what the job-hunting executives examined have been going through. Most retain a zest for business and a belief that all the upheaval — and the sweeping away of whole management layers, including their own — is for the country’s good. Talks with severed executives reveal that: — Competition in the job market is fierce. — The most effective way by far to find a new post is through networking — turning to friends and business acquaintances. — Executive recruiters seldom offer much help since their mission is the opposite of placing the unemployed: pulling in the 1,000-pound tunas still contentedly in the swim. — Outplacement firms practically never put anyone in a new job either, but they at least shore up battered self-esteem and provide training and tips that help in the search. — Once a job is secured, the anguish ousted managers felt in their time of trial often turns into appreciation. Some even say the move was the best they ever made. ”It was worth it,” says a north-eastern executive in his late 40s. ”I was getting complacent in my old job. When shrubs are transplanted, there is new life and new growth. It happened to me.” More transplantation may be coming. The Bureau of Labour Statistics estimates that almost 500,000 ”executive, administrative, and managerial” workers lost jobs that they had held for at least three years. The numbers are probably increasing as companies now rush to cut costs and raise efficiency. Out-of-work managers have an easier time than lower-ranking workers do. Of employees displaced, the BLS says, 72% in the executive group have found new jobs, compared with 64% of the blue-collar and factory workers. The BLS ”executive” category includes such people as school principals, construction inspectors, and those who supervise a handful of workers. And the federal data do not convey the difficulty of finding work in a city where whole battalions of managers have been cast out. To get a clearer idea of what expelled managers face, FORTUNE asked E.A. Butler & Associates, an executive search firm with offices in several cities around the country, to set aside all unsolicited resumes . Then, late last year, the firm randomly asked a portion of the job seekers for permission to turn over their resumes to FORTUNE. The vast majority agreed, and 250 — nearly all male — were queried by telephone about the success of their searches. The 250 executives included some who said they had not been forced out of their jobs but merely were looking voluntarily for greener pastures. The great majority, however, had been fired or told by their employers to start hunting. These managers probably include a disproportionate number of problem cases. Failing to find work quickly, they have found it necessary to mail out stacks of resumes. The experience of those who admitted to being forced out differed little from that of the voluntary job hunters. In FORTUNE’s survey, 56%, or 141 of the 250 participants, have found new jobs. Another 17% are looking but are still at their old posts. The remaining 27% are the ones in precarious straits: They have left the old job but have failed to find a new one. Of those who found jobs, only 21% did so in three months or less. But for 66%, the search lasted an arduous four to nine months. And 13% searched from ten months to almost two years. Some outplacement firms warn that clients can expect to spend roughly one month in the job market for every $10,000 in salary they are seeking. The search gets harder with age, but only up to a point. Among FORTUNE’s seekers, those under 35 have a much higher rate of success than the 35-to-44 crowd, which in turn has done better than the 45-to-54s. Beyond 55, at least in FORTUNE’s sample, the success rate improves again. This figure may be high partly because only the dedicated job seekers — or the desperate — are still in the labor force. Many executives who are let go at this age drop out of the market and retire. TO HEAR severed execs tell it, the age problem is entirely in the eyes of the beholders — the prospective employers. Richard Busby, 55, one of those surveyed, was director of purchasing at Goodall Rubber Co. in New Jersey when the company was acquired by Trelleborg of Sweden . Busby lost his position in a major reorganization. He has a strong job prospect now but says: ”I did mass mailings, as many as the computer would spit out. I got a lot of responses, but I think when most saw my age, something went awry.” Fred Holland, 51, spent most of his career with Conoco before becoming president of Irex Corp., a Denver drilling-fund subsidiary of Integrated Resources. After falling prices crippled the oil business, Irex shriveled from 70 employees to 12, and Holland, feeling underemployed, quit. For several months he searched in the oil industry before giving up. ”Employers view older men as often set in their ways and hard to manage,” he says. ”Or, if the older guy is really good, then he’s seen as a threat.” This tale has a happy ending. Holland recently used his other skills — as a highly successful personal investor — to land a job as a personal financial counsellor with Lynn Hutchings & Associates in Denver. He says he is glad he will be judged on the value he produces from now on, rather than on his title. This year he expects to make about $25,000 in fees, down sharply from his previous earnings of $150,000, but he believes his income will eventually approach its former level as his clientele expands. It just might do that: Holland figures he has increased his net worth 20-fold over the past ten years, mostly through smart investing. SURPRISINGLY, nearly half the newly employed executives in FORTUNE’s survey have already boosted their income. While the remainder is earning the same or less, many hope to come out ahead because they have been offered more equity participation or their potential bonuses are larger. Take Thomas Johnson, 52, who used to be president of a Dallas subsidiary of Redman Industries that produces mobile homes Johnson lost his job because, as he puts it, ”There was a health problem: Jim Redman, the chairman, got sick of me.” After seven months, networking landed him a position as president of High Chaparral, a manufacturer of prefabricated housing and a subsidiary of Home Savings Association of Midland, Texas. Now Johnson is busily expanding the company from one factory to six. Like most in FORTUNE’s survey, Johnson won’t reveal his new salary, but says, ”While the base is down, the bonus opportunity is up. Home Savings believes in putting a big carrot out there, and I’m working much harder.” Most successful hunters bag their quarry by venturing into a different kind of business. In the survey, 62% of the job finders switched industries and 60% are working in smaller companies. Robert Freiburger, 41, used to be a director of manufacturing at a unit of ITT (annual revenues: $12.7 billion) that turns out night-vision goggles used by the military. Now he is general manager of LC Systems, a division of Eagle-Picher Industries ($648 million) producing liquid crystal displays. Smaller is better, says Freiburger. He was promoted three times in his last ten years at ITT and says he treasures his experience there because it forced him to excel. ”But you had to put up with a lot of day-to-day agony. ITT wasn’t particularly people-oriented.” Eagle-Picher’s management, he says, ”gives us freedom from constant corporate review of everything. They don’t believe in prolific memo writing, policy manuals, and teams of executives descending on you every month. They believe in loyalty of the individual to the company more than larger bureaucratic organizations tend to do.” A few even say they wouldn’t want to work for a big company again. James Smith, 47, was a divisional president of the Donald L. Bren Co., a major real estate developer in Irvine, California. He was pushed out and now is a partner and senior vice president at Kimball Small Properties, another developer less than half the size of Bren. Smith says he’s much more comfortable at the smaller company. ”Big corporations don’t take care of the needs of their employees. Only the C.E.O.s’ needs are important, and they use the corporation as their vehicle. I was never told why I was being let go, and that bothered me tremendously.” Some of the more independent-minded have started their own businesses. Asit Shroff, 42, was a vice president and controller at the Iselin, New Jersey, office of Fleet Finance Inc. Then the New Jersey operation was consolidated with another in Atlanta. Fearing a big loss on the sale of his home and reluctant to uproot his family, he has opened a computer dealership with a friend in Roslyn Heights, New York. Shroff says he’s making ”close” to what he earned at Fleet and has a 140-mile round-trip commute six days a week. But, he says, ”I like being my own boss. I don’t regret a thing.” Like Shroff, exactly half the job finders in FORTUNE’s survey now perform different tasks from those at their old employers. A slight majority are also supervising fewer subordinates. Some feel a sense of liberation. Johnson of High Chaparral, for instance, used to be insulated from his operations managers by a layer of seven vice presidents. Now he has no vice presidents. ”I’m getting in and doing things now,” he says, ”and having more fun.” JOYS SUCH AS THESE remain an elusive dream for those still on the Long March. As they work into the night cranking out resumes, savings dwindle and phone bills mount. Many are perplexed. They are not society’s underachievers and misfits, after all, but winners who steadily advanced to management jobs their companies now deem unaffordable. Laments an executive in his early 40s who never before experienced unemployment: ”This is the first time since I was 15 and applying for work in a local store that I have had to search for a job.” E. A. Butler of the headhunting firm, who is also the author of four books of advice for job-seeking executives, thinks many of today’s younger executives have a knack for shortening the ordeal. Most job offers that result from prior networking, he says, come in the first 60 days. The yuppie types, he observes, opportunistically grab the first job that comes along and, if it proves disappointing, press on with the search from their new position. The older crowd is too fussy, Butler says, at least for a while. ”The closer they get to retirement, the more careful they tend to be. They think this is going to be the last job, when they really should regard it as the next assignment.” At first they want as much money and prestige as they had before. Or their wives don’t want to relocate and their families, striving to be supportive, tell them not to settle for less than they think they are worth. Many, Butler adds, have ego problems: ”They think the mold was broken after they were created. It takes about six months for them to realize what they are up against and get religion. By then valuable time has been lost and they have to explain why they have been out of a job for half a year.” Older executives often neglect networking. Butler guesses that only about 10% of executives in big companies actively cultivate useful acquaintances outside their firm. ”They labor at their work and raise their families,” he says. Joseph Rockom recalls the awkwardness he felt at first going to friends and business associates. ”I thought I was begging, hat in hand. You’d better get over that because people want to help.” Mere common courtesy goes a long way toward keeping a network strong. David Myers, 44, was vice president in charge of loss prevention and safety for Household Merchandising of suburban Chicago, the retailing division of Household International. When the division became independent in a leveraged buyout, about 40 corporate executives, including Myers, were let go. Myers, who saw it coming, began compiling a list of contacts before the ax fell. Says he: ”No one is too unimportant to keep in touch with. Nobody’s phone call should be ignored. People who don’t return calls make a mistake from a business and a personal standpoint by not maintaining contacts. If you end up looking for a job, the most important thing is being able to say: ‘Hi, I have a problem, do you know of anything? Here is my phone number.’ ” Within five months Myers had found a job with the Stop & Shop grocery chain of Quincy, Massachusetts. He is due to succeed one of the people on his network list who will soon retire from a position for which he recommended Myers. CONNECTIONS, of course, are not everything. A few of FORTUNE’s survey respondents got results by sending resumes cold to companies they had carefully screened for operations in their field of business. Freiburger’s letter to Eagle-Picher brought a company jet with execs one Thursday to his home town of Roanoke, Virginia. They took him to lunch and offered him a job starting the following Monday morning at a plant in Exton, Pennsylvania. Few get jobs by sending unsolicited resumes to head hunters, though it does happen. But one found salvation answering a classified ad in the Washington Post. Outplacement firms are sometimes criticized for being little more than healing balm for the corporate conscience, but these services got surprisingly high marks in the survey. Of the job finders, 33% used outplacement, and three-quarters of them say it was useful. Its main value, beyond boosting crushed egos, is in coaching people for job interviews. Outplacement firms often provide office space and secretarial services and encourage job hunters to don suits and ties, turn up at the outplacement ”office” every day, and view the search as a job. A
ll of these tend to ward off a crippling sense of self-pity. Gerhard Mietz, 55, lost his position as president of RTE/ Delta, a subsidiary of RTE Corp. of Wisconsin. Using the services of Hindman Associates of Louisville, Kentucky, Mietz was trained in interviewing techniques with the help of videotapes. ”They shot me in a mock interview and then tore me apart. Boy, was the second interview an improvement.” Mietz believes that unless an executive is an experienced job hopper, he’s probably not very good at selling himself. ”The trick,” he says, ”is to forget your past glories. The interviewer doesn’t care. Find out what he needs in advance or by tuning in carefully to his questions.” He credits the training with landing him a position as operations manager of a division of German-owned Siemens Energy and Automation in Raleigh, North Carolina. One profound effect of all the bloodletting is a serious weakening of the emotional bonds that tied managers to companies. As one of the displaced sourly notes, ”The rules have changed; the old loyalty is gone.” Vows another: ”From this day forward I am who I am going to worry about.” Even so, most severed executives retain a zest for business, rather like athletes benched during a game but raring to get back on the field. What they seem to miss as much as the pay check and the perks is the thrill of bashing the competition. ”I want back in the game,” says one of the jobless. ”That’s what races my motor. Pardon my French, but I want to beat the bastards.” And what about Joe Rockom, the man who began this story? He is back on the playing field, but it took some doing. Because he was not a job hopper like many Silicon Valley executives, he had not developed a network of contacts during his 17 years at American Microsystems. But the day after he left, he plunged in. Nine months later, with the help of a venture capitalist he knew, Rockom became chief financial officer of a start-up company, Ikos Inc., a manufacturer of engineering work-station computers. His previous job paid about $85,000. Now he earns $70,000 but has what he calls a ”large equity position” in the company. If it succeeds, Rockom could come out way ahead. Formerly he had 80 people reporting to him — ”an army,” he says. Now he alone watches the money. ”I am the army. It’s fun.”
These trying times offer opportunities for both large multinationals, and small properly positioned focussed companies. The large multinational can gain the small company’s expertise, focus,flexibility and maneuverability and all the other advantages of a small corporation, while the small company can gain access to the multinational’s global presence, experience, history and durability.
Win win in all cases. A good investment for the multinational’s capital (clearly better than the stock market, don’t you think?) and a great cash injection/growth opportunity for the small focussed highly competent corporation.
Father Andreas Kefalogiannis, a reverend of the Greek Orthodox Church stationed in Crete, has done something truly original (at least in these areas).
Aside from working overtime on supporting local charities and helping folk in need in these dire times, and in addition to being a damn good soccer player, father Andreas offers confessional through facebook.
If you’re in need of some soul searching and a shot of optimism, check out his site and go for it. His services are open to all and are highly valued by the local population, as well as numerous Russians, Bulgarians, Romanians etc… that have made Greece their new home.
Is everything okay?
Unless you work in a nuclear power plant, the answer is certainly no (and if you work there, I hope the answer is yes.)
No, everything is not okay. Not in a growing organization. Not if your company is making change happen, or dealing with customers. How could it be?
And yet, that’s what so many managers focus on. How to make everything okay.
We spend so much time smoothing things out, we lose the opportunity for change, or for texture or creativity.
Instead of working so hard to make everything okay, perhaps it is more helpful to work hard at living with a world that rarely is.
Costas was born in a place within the deep regions of Mani back around 1880 (at the height of British Capitalism). At the turn of the century, Costas immigrated to the New World where he landed a job as a bouncer in a Boston bar (Costas was about 6 foot 2 weighed about 160 Kg pure muscle and bone with Herculean strength, a torso of a bull, and a ding bat insofar as intelligence was concerned).
In one of those rowdy nights, a brawl took place in this well known bar and a particular “gentleman” of Irish descent broke a bottle and went for Costas’ throat. Costas, spontaneously picked up a chair and summarily brought it down on the Irish bloke’s skull, killing the noble gent (when an Irishman and a Greek fight its over a woman, or money. In this case it was for the eyes of a lovely Irish lass named Doreen).
The bar management (the bar manager was also an Irishman but a very good friend of Costas; even today in the area people wonder how the two communicated since Costas could barely pronounce a word of English except : “oa,to,tree,for,fa” (i.e. One, two three, four, five)) quickly led Costas out the back door.
Anyway, the penalty in those days for 2nd degree murder for a Greek immigrant was death, so they rushed Costas through the underground train to New York and put him on a ship back to the motherland.
The problem is that they put him on the wrong ship, and Costas found himself after 30 days in Cyprus. In 1910, while Greece was preparing for the Balkan wars Cyprus was still a British colony[1], so upon landing, Costas took note of the British flag, but the fact that the locals spoke Greek, and cited the famous words “Shit, I didn’t know that Britain was a Greek colony?”
Anyway, Costas eventually found his way to Greece, eloped with ½ dozen ladies (he was a well known ladies man), won the lottery (really, he did!) and a turkey to go along, opened a Grocery store and left it to his sons Panagiotis and Petros, went down to Mani and became good friends with Nikos Kazantzakis where he provided coffee and cake while Big Nick wrote the life and times of Alexis Zorbas (at Kalogria).
When the kids asked Costas what he learnt in the US, Costas answered“oa,to,tree,for,fa” .
Costas eventually passed away leaving his wife his two kids, a donkey a house and a well.
The house today, in Stoupa, is home to a successful restaurant business and overseas the tiny Stoupan bay.
[1]Britain left Cyprus with the dichotomy problems common in other commonwealth countries notably India, South Africa, Canada (Quebec). The Americans managed to dodge these problems because of the 1776 events. Also, the Acheson plan was implemented with the same strategy that Hitler used to invake Czechoslovakia ie. To protect a minority under threat. The only difference was that Hitler used German Nazis to instigate the issues in Czechoslovakia while the British used British spies (Samson, Grivas etc..). The end results were the same in both cases.
Viral marketing is an idea that spreads–and an idea that while it is spreading actually helps market your business or cause.
Two kinds of viral marketing: The original classic sort in which the marketing is the product and which a self-amplifying cycle occurs. Hotmail, for example, or YouTube. The more people use them, the more people see them. The more people see them, the more people use them. The product or service must be something that improves once more people use it.
A second kind has evolved over the last few years, and that’s a marketing campaign that spreads but isn’t the product itself. Shepard Fairey’s poster of Barack Obama was everywhere, because people chose to spread it. It was viral (it spread) and it was marketing (because it made an argument–a visual one–for a candidate.)
Something being viral is not, in an of itself, viral marketing. Who cares that 32,000,000 people saw your stupid video? It didn’t market you or your business in a tangible, useful way.
Marketers are obsessed with free media, and, as is often the case, we blow it in our rush to get our share. We create content that is hampered or selfish or boring. Or we create something completely viral that doesn’t do any marketing at all.
The critical element of viral marketing is this: it’s built in. It was built into Hotmail and built into YouTube. The more people used the camera on their cell phones, the more the idea spread, the more people wanted a camera.
If you want to do viral marketing, you can try to come up with a viral ad, but you’ll probably fail. You’re better off building the viral right into the product, creating a product that spreads because you designed it that way.
Viral marketing only works well when you plan for it, when you build it in, when you organize your offering to be spreadable, interesting and to work better for everyone involved when it spreads.
The reason for this post is that viral marketing is getting a bad name, largely from clueless marketing agencies and clueless marketers. Here’s what they do: they get a lame product, or a semi-lame product, and they don’t have enough time or money to run a nationwide ad campaign. So, instead, they slap some goofy viral thing on top of it and wait for it to spread. And if it doesn’t spread, they create a faux controversy or engage a PR firm or some bloggers and then it still doesn’t work.
Being viral isn’t the hard part. The hard part is making that viral element actually produce something of value, not just entertainment for the client or your boss.
We hear over and over again that this is the right time to shop for a car, since prices are on the way down opening the door for fantastic offers. Well, Perrys is the right place to shop for the right car at the right time.
The site design is clean and provides adequate information about Perrys which is imperative to help reduce buying risk, as well as its pricing policies to help you properly budget your purchase.
What I find sexy about this site is the ease of navigation which enables you to find out information about the dealer chain, the brands in question and any present or upcoming bargains. You can also send a mail to the site with your particular tastes, and they’ll respond with the model that caters to your interests.
The site also includes an exhaustive list of Europe wide retailers as well as offered services included in your local vauxhall dealer.
If you’re looking for a new set of wheels, and if you’re specifically into the latest Vauxhall models (the insignia boasts state of the art mobile. artificial intelligence while the Corsa is the perfect reliable machine for city dwellers and real estate agents) check out Perrys; send in a question and they’ll do their best to find the right model, at the right price , something that matches your pocketbook.
Finally, in addition to catering to almost all tastes, the site provides ample information with respect to the company’s history, careers, present special and upcoming bargains as well as a special section for those with physical impediments and for the disabled.
One obvious conclusion from the site design is that Perrys offers services for all major auto brands. Just find the brand and click on it.
If you’re looking for a theme to this work, you won’t find one.
You will however find many themes, each corresponding to a facet of personality that was developed over the years by the engineer, the musician, the composer, the traveller, the manager, the teacher and the student.
These layers of experience ... Continue reading »
The contents of this blog express the purely subjective opinions of the author(s) of the specific contents. The specific comments related to the specific contents are moderated by the administrator of this site, and express the specific puntos de vista of the comment authors, and not of the moderator of the comment in question.
Local Ambassador (Greece) for the Edinburgh Business School M.B.A. Program
1. Google in talks to acquire Yelp
In addition to its mobile website, Yelp also offers smartphone applications optimized for the iPhone, BlackBerry and Palm Pre platforms as well as Google’s Android operating system.
Verizon Wireless is quietly making Microsoft’s Bing the default search engine on some of its BlackBerry smartphones, thereby replacing options that included Wikipedia and Google. The move stems from a search agreement inked between Verizon and Microsoft in January.
Big Rupert Murdoch sez that once he starts charging subscriptions for his online media, he’s gonna block Google from accessing his sites content. (ie. remove stories from Google search index). This implies that content from sites such as 
NSN is planning on cutting about 7700 workers from its 64000 strong workforce. This amounts to about 8% of the total workforce and will save NSN about 500M euro per annum up until the end of 2011. This decision marks a second wave of job slashing in the last two years.
Every once in a while we have the opportunity witness mechanisms of change at work and invoking disruption mechanisms whose after-effects are felt long after. For example, 
On the other hand 
Well it was bound to happen !
Sound organization design implies efficient information flow and fluid adaptability to fluctuating market conditions, while simultaneous protection of internal corporate functions.
Well, this is a first !
But ok, the company always was in the midst of management turmoil resembling greco-roman wrestling matches and then after the investment funds took over, 
In the grim period that followed Lehman’s failure, it seemed inconceivable that bankers would, just a few months later, be going right back to the practices that brought the world’s financial system to the edge of collapse. At the very least, one might have thought, they would show some restraint for fear of creating a public backlash. But now that we’ve stepped back a few paces from the brink — thanks, let’s not forget, to immense, taxpayer-financed rescue packages — the financial sector is rapidly returning to business as usual. Even as the rest of the nation continues to suffer from rising unemployment and severe hardship, Wall Street paychecks are heading back to pre-crisis levels. And the industry is deploying its political clout to block even the most minimal reforms. The good news is that senior officials in the Obama administration and at the Federal Reserve seem to be losing patience with the industry’s selfishness. The bad news is that it’s not clear whether President Obama himself is ready, even now, to take on the bankers.
lobbyists, is running against the proposed creation of an agency to protect consumers against financial abuses, such as loans whose terms they don’t understand. The chamber’s ads, declared Mr. Summers, are “the financial-regulatory equivalent of the death-panel ads that are being run with respect to health care.”
bankers are paid. What’s wrong with financial-industry compensation? In a nutshell, bank executives are lavishly rewarded if they deliver big short-term profits — but aren’t correspondingly punished if they later suffer even bigger losses. This encourages excessive risk-taking: some of the men most responsible for the current crisis walked away immensely rich from the bonuses they earned in the good years, even though the high-risk strategies that led to those bonuses eventually decimated their companies, taking down a large part of the financial system in the process.
George Papandreou, the President of Socialist International is now the new Prime Minister of the Hellenic republic.
There is a strong possibility that information, in the near future, will be stored, managed and maintained in huge information storage facilities.
A particular company will outsource its information needs to one of these facilities, and will not bother with maintaining any storage facilities on site.
Let’s talk about the 
suppliers; say from the far east) started coming in. In addition 
value chain including supplier price squeezing etc.. Now all this did not result in any change in the social surplus; the wealth redistribution and the necessary changes brought about a new industry equilibrium; in other words above normal profits started becoming normal profits. As a matter of fact, regardless of who had a bigger piece 
of the surplus, society benefited as whole from all aspects including financial (a new source of investment wealth), health (mobile e-health), business (e-commerce), socializing, and security (your car broke down on 635 E from Forth Worth to Dallas at 3 AM; mobile 911 with location based services etc…). Sure, some contracts were renegotiated but so what? Employment was steady if not increasing and service continued to improve !
It’s easy to to adopt the policy of avoiding risk at all costs, that whenever possible, the products you launch or the engagements you have should be flawless and without downside.
The current financial crunch has taken a heavy toll on today’s business environment and has forced corporations to seek nontraditional ways of minimizing costs while concurrently maximizing productivity and general efficiency. One of the heaviest contributors to total fixed costs is of course office space.
some sort of permanent working space whether it’s an office or a desk. For an office worker, typical deskwork includes processing documents, emails and phone communication, while daily interactions with co-workers take place through scheduled or ad hoc meetings in fixed meeting rooms or other building areas. Dealings with customers and suppliers is done through fixed building assets including communication and computing devices as well as meeting areas (your or the customer’s office; your or the customer’s conference rooms). Managing the warehouse (if you’re unlucky to have one) is of course another burden that translates to a fixed cost (add to that the inventory costs; if your forecasts were misaligned with market realities then you have quite a situation). Your general building costs which are always reflected in your Year to Yield and annual income statements are in the short term independent of your business reality and are thus always present whether you’re in business, or quietly going out of business.
environment through a host of new applications (ex. 
Ubiquitous radio access converged with the fixed phone system means that you can start your work day at home or at your preferred location and move as required without disrupting the workflow. You can process all your documents remotely (emails, proposals, tenders, offers) through your company’s vpn , make and receive calls while stationed or on the go, book teleconferences at home or in your car (while taking all necessary traffic precautions) and agree to meet with customers in cafes, posh restaurants or classy hotel lounges. Of course airline bookings and hotel reservations are already a gas with web bookings and e-tickets and can easily be managed from a mobile office.
corporate streamlining will continue to be a predominant force in the next couple of years. Luckily enough communication technology is progressing at such a rate, that if present mobility trends continue, the mobile office will become indispensible factor of day to day business, resulting in improved productivity and rendering fixed office costs a thing of the past. Finally a fully mobile working environment will enhance economic efficiency through reduced frictional unemployment, since relocation will no longer be an employment condition.
Starting Jan 2010 the EU will invest about 18M euro for R+D into 4th generation mobile broadband communication networks.
Ericsson) became the default standard for digital cellular (as opposed to ATT backed FDMA), a standard that also formed the foundation of GSM access (the equivalent American standard is referred to as AMPS/DAMPS). GSM, aside from being state of the art, became an industrialized and fully standardized network easily allowing economies of scale, quick deployment and easy adaptation to market needs, and of course a roadmap allowing the market to see its evolution. From then on Europe
In order to be successful with anything , you have to know who you are (Socrates : 
Spent a week in Lefkada. Great food (fish mostly) cheap prices good service.
Arsonist have struck again, following the same strategy as they did in 2007 setting multiple fires in geographically remote regions, thus aiming to disperse the country’s firefighting force and render its effort fruitless.
The event : This intoxicated British dude comes on to a Cretan girl. She dodges politely his advances but he persists to the point where he tries to slip his hand down her pants. The lady takes a fit, empties the bottle of Sambuca she had on the table over the British guy, and summarily sets him on fire with her lighter. Needless to say the bloke ends up in the hospital and the fiery lady in the hands of police.
Athens, 
blue eyed and with an eliptoid kinda head;Mayan mothers use to implement some sort of cast on their newborn’s head in order to get it to form an elipse, something that the Spanish frowned upon). Or maybe it was just the devil paying the Mayas a visit after having blown away Adam and Eve. Anyway, these features gave the Spanish a strategic advantage since the Mayas and Aztecs initially thought the the Catalans represented the return of their blonde god. BIG MISTAKE !
One the one side 
The news and details of the expected deal were first reported by the AllThingsDigital blog and Advertising Age.
A Russian billionaire visits a remote Greek island that has just past a couple of months of bad weather. Needless to say tourism in the island has been at an all time low and there’s simply no cash to go around; everyone on the island is in debt.
counter and asks the hotel owner to show him around the island. The hotel owner takes the 100 euro and orders the bellboy to take the Russian on a tour.
The Madame take her cabriole Volks and drives off to the classy hotel that started this chain reaction (or multiplication effect), and submits the 100 euro she owed the hotel for the rooms she used in the past to offer her services.
Any robust management system has built in grievance handling provisions. These grievance handling mechanisms are usually independent of the management body and have the chief role of safeguarding the corporation from systemized detrimental principle agent problems (old boys’ networks and golden boy cliques). In other words, the grievance handling mechanism introduces an independent communication channel that allows employees and managers to anonymously voice their opinion and concerns. In the past such 
channels helped bring to light various issues including dubious business practices. If used properly unofficial communication channels protect a company and its shareholders in the same way as official ones, if not more.
use of a communication device be it a fixed or mobile terminal) implies an unofficial grievance communication channel. 
In ancient Athens, the night before the Sicilian expedition, sycophantic activity resulted in the castration of religious statues. One explanation for this was that a group of citizens who were against the expedition had no other channel to voice their complaints and reverted to such activity. Another explanation was that the activity was perpetrated by Alcibiades’ enemies in order to discredit him. Since there was never any root cause analysis performed by the Athenians on these actions, any conclusions are pure speculation. What we do know is that the civil war started a chain reaction that eventually led to the collapse of a great civilization. What we also know is that during the Assembly sessions everyone agreed with General Alcibiades (Groupthink
should be made the subject of study, and some sort of correlation should be sought between the activity and how much the official grievance channels (i.e. the system) actually work; how much faith the population has in the system. In addition the content of this activity (as well as any other information and complaints arising from anonymous channels) should also be studied with the goal of identifying improper procedures and corrupt business or political practices. Usually such practices can only be uncovered through unofficial channels since the official channels are controlled by the individuals that may be implicated in these practices.
Unstructured data; Those two words alone cause turmoil to business practices and render decision makers nervous especially when the monumental amount of customer related information (from all channels, including the Web) comes into play. In fact, the story goes that over 80% of the world’s data is unstructured, and businesses are indeed suffering.
into over 500 functions that help marketers improve the experience for their customers.
Symphony) or FurtWegler conducting the 5th (he gets up on the podium,crosses his arms, looks at the Berliner Philarmonic, blinks, and…pa pa pa paaaaaaaam, the first movement begins).
The concept of bounded rationality, introduced by Herbert Simon, sheds light into the various parameters that affect management decision making and human decision making in general, especially when it comes to purchase decisions.
be rational within limits such as time and cognitive capability. Herbert Simon indicated that there were thus two major causes of bounded rationality:
Rumours have it that Big Bill Gates is interested in purchasing the Golden Greek’s (Aristotle Onassis) Ionian island of 
days ago has speculation brewing and property prices skyrocketing.
There are certain people that put integrity above all other wordly matters. These people cannot be understood by the common penny pincher, or those that place a priority on materialistic fortune.
Mobile terminal manufacturers have finally agreed on a common specification interface for the mobile terminal battery charger.
As we’ve outlined in past entries, peer to peer and distributed agent technologies have many applications, and will have many more.
In the late eighties, global economies were bracing for one more (of the now all too familiar) crisis. The economies of most western countries were overheating (high inflation) and interest rates were on their way up. The market was up to its ears in debt (thanks to 
In the late 80s, legendary CEO 
Let me tell you about Jack.
Of course the years passed and Jack eventually left his multinational, Business wasn’t what it use to be and since it got quite boring, Jack decided to call it quits; of course with a little help. People shy away at leaving their work in their forties, especially in the midst of a crisis, but Jack see’s it as the natural thing to do. His line of business went down, he’s seen the world and savored its flavors, so now its time to do something that will be in tune with the times to come. Jack’s right now on the 
People from all over the world are rushing to secure a place in the opening of the new 
Mrs.Athina Darra inaugurated the “Constantinople 2010″ gala by performing a set of fine Hellenic melodies in the church of Saint Irene in Constantinople (or Istanbul).
The areas that are of interested (for example the online help access) are readily found.
purchase decision, the consumer goes through a process where he/she visualizes using the product and if the particular promotion channel somehow impedes this, then this is one more point towards a negative purchasing decision.
A lot of companies are placing executive control into the hands of bean counters in order to rationalize the costs of the companies, and make some sense out of the continuing financial chaos.
best car in high school was driven by a kid working in the local butcher shop; we’re talking now about a Z28; that’s a 4,2L Camarro (he was Italian, the Greeks preferred the equivalent Pontiac Trans Am) for you Mediterranean home grown boys that like to zoom with 1,8L Subarus…).
Pascale today teaches French at 
Humanity has been struggling (and still is in some parts of the world) for over 3000 years for a form of government that represents the basic right of self determination (ie. Democracy).
In most countries, one can abstain from exercising their right to vote. Abstaining from vote is not the same as voting blank or destroying your ballot. In the latter cases you are stating that you do not believe that any party represents your interests, and you are not giving any party the honor of your vote. You are voting which means that you are supporting the system and basic democratic values and you are making a statement.
Abstaining means that you are not exercising your right to vote, that you are not participating in the democratic system (“the ancient Athenians stated that a citizen that does not vote is a useless citizen”) and that participating in the democracy is not worth your time. Abstaining is not a show of complaint against the political parties, but a show of complaint and no confidence in the actual democratic system.
There may come a day (and may that day never come) when someone or something may say that perhaps its time to change our form of government. That someone or something may say that because only a small percentage of the population votes, the present form of government is simply not working at a time when the country needs a sound working system to manage perceived calamities . Perhaps this new type of authority may actually organize itself in such a way that its members do vote, but also discourage other parties and people from voting (ie. encourage them to abstain).
Since we’re on the home stretch regarding the Euroelections (GO VOTE DOG !), an examination of the different parties and their correlation to economics and other things, is in order.
along and said that if humanity is to have a future, then distribution of wealth should be made extremely fair and that workers should have a say over their future and the future of the state. The way to gain this control is through force. The way to manage the change is through a revolutionary government which will take upon itself to radically transform the existing system to the communist system. In the communist system everyone is equal and everyone works for the common good, ie for everyone else. There is only one party, the communist party which represents the worker class; in the communist system everyone is a worker and the government represents these workers and works in a collective way to ensure a better future for the state, the state being the people. Since wealth is to be distributed equally to all, no one owns anything and everything is owned by the state , but since the state which is controlled by the people’s party is really the people, then everything is controlled by the people. So mi casa es su casa and this also expands to relationships; you cannot say that Martha is your wife (or Gazoo is your husband) since this implies possession and there are no possessions. So it’s a free for all when it comes to babes too! There are various questions that come to mind: Why should the entrepreneur share his wealth since she took all the risks and possessed the required skills to accumulate this wealth, and how much un untrained uneducated worker can cook up a strategy let alone lead a country (don’t take this too literally; some people have a natural gift towards leadership independent of whether they know how to spell or not “Supercalifragilisticepialidocious”)? One of the largest problems with implementing this system is that you end up having a set of people controlling the state, which brings up the age old problem of “who will watch the watchers” (unless you’re lucky enough to have truly incorruptible leaders ie. a one in 3 billion chance). Finally, if you witness a communist leader going to church, driving an expensive car, having a large estate and sending his/her kids to an expensive private school, then think twice about how much he/she and the party they’re leading practice what they preach (and how they handle all those dues they collect from their followers).
but important changes). This implies that you have a market system but government moves in to correct imperfection. So Darwinism in a controlled form. Why? Well first of all the market isn’t perfect. Secondly the vast majority of the population does not do very well, (or care to do well ) in business so indeed the vast majority is labor, and thirdly even though wealth is still in the hands of those that know how to accumulate it (and this isn’t the vast majority), the vast majority is still the vast majority and if you really piss them off (and this has happened in the past many many times) then you’re headed for trouble (the guillotine, the communist revolution and much much more). So don’t piss them off, give them bread and distribute wealth so that yes you can stay rich, but ensure that everyone else doesn’t starve. It’s a way of distributing things while preserving the existing political, social and class structure. Representative of this is collective bargaining and win win negotiation with an emphasis on the Nash Equilibrium. Problem with the center is that you need both a right wing and a left wing in order to have a center.
eyed babe. Well right of the bat D, T, H and V being “friends” try to figure out ways to shaft each other to gain exclusive access to the blonde. So as each of the guys in turn come on to the blond, the blond girl’s assets immediately rise (resulting in the lady’s aloofness) and she rejects all four. The other women seeing that D, T, H and V all went for the blonde, immediately also reject the four Caballeros since the women do not want to be the second choice. So Dimitris, Tonester, Heckle and Vangelis, the loosers that they are, end up taking cold showers instead of hitting home runs.
scoring since anyone that knows anything about hitting on women in a bar realizes that the four girls being friends would be more open to dating four guys who are also friends since the goods are equally distributed in a secure way. So instead of acting independently, acting collectively would’ve resulted in a much more pleasurable night for all (even for the blonde babe since the last of the gang (ok this is a new variable that wasn’t introduced before; but hey we just opened up the Nash world to exogenous factors) Alfred P Neuman who came in late 
The business news of the week is that GM has hit a brick wall. GM and American car manufacturers have been going down 
GM was the leading US automaker for decades. Its leadership reflected the sign of the times in a postwar America (“What’s good for GM is good for America”). Some even say that GM, and the car industry in general, used various political maneuvers to gain the upper hand in a growing economy (using its clout to keep sabotage city transport in order to encourage purchases of new automobiles as well as building a time limit in its products so that they break down after 3 years, forcing you to buy a new one etc..). That may be so but the fact still remains that at one time, 
This kind of vision ran out of steam in the 70s and GM has been running on momentum since the late 70s early 80s. So the economic system hasn’t collapsed; its just that the times have caught up and surpassed the auto industry.
The chief ideology that brought about the present capitalist (or market) system goes by the name of 
Youth is a mosaic of images that generate impressions which form a composition matrix of one’s life.
Humanity has been searching for some sort of 
There’s an email going around that a well known powerhouse in the mobile communication world, a builder of mobile phones and platforms, is giving free laptops to those that forward twenty or more emails of the received letter. 
From the commission
enterprise could sell the pcs that did not include Intel processors (ex: only through the internet) including an agreement that delayed the offering of the products hosting competitor devices 6 months after the equivalent Intel product hit the market.
The French government is on its way to barring
entitled to have efficient and fluid protection when it comes to guarding their intellectual property. Granted!
So it is virtually impossible to catch someone ripping or illegally copying material without violating that someone’s right to privacy.
Video communicaton through fixed online applications has become very, very popular (ex: video skype). Video communication through telecommunication broadband systems has not become very popular (whether fixed or mobile).
To begin with, the UK is being summoned by the European Court for violation of information privacy, since a number of UK companies have been illegally accessing private data and usage habits, through a piece of software known as 
and eventually gains hold of the direction of the customer’s network, and of course of the most profitable components. Thus the concept of strategic network evolution.
For those returning to Athens Greece from a trip to Mexico, a trip that was realized in the last couple of weeks (last flight from Mexico to Athens was believed to be Friday the 24rth of April) and who fear, or have cause to fear, anything regarding the 
Aston
Trojans and Danaans etc..).
By now most people have heard of the Pirate Bay 
with drugs.
LONDON (
voice synthesizer, had been ill for a couple of weeks, with his condition deteriorating since he returned from a trip to the United States at the weekend, a source said.
He has previously been treated for pneumonia and the source said it appeared his latest illness was related to the chest infection, although he stressed there was no diagnosis yet.
George
decided that we had suffered enough, it relented, and the economy quickly bounced back. Your grandfather’s recession, on the other 
hand, was something like the 
housing plan announced this week looks good, in the sense that it will help many homeowners, but it won’t spur a new housing boom. What, then, will actually end the slump? Well, the 
grandfather’s recession. But recovery may be a long time coming. The closest 19th-century parallel I can find to the current slump is the recession that followed the 
When one thinks of Cosmopolitan, one thinks of London. The challenge one faces when on a trip to London is that large assortement of 
The Dark Press
The economy is certainly the most relative of all.
Countries and nations are relative, and culture is relative.
At 3:30 AM local time this morning, 6,3 Richter shook the Italian city of 
and over 50,000 abandoning their homes in fear of aftershocks.
A number of airlines are providing free transport to foreigners, especially students. A check should be made with the related embassies/consulates for specific information.
occured, there were a number of tremors of increasing strength. A seismologist claimed that if the proper people were in the proper places then measures could’ve been taken to warn people and prepare for the major tremor.
Relief workers have been succesful in rescuing people, but were also witness to a number of tragedies, such a dead couple embraced in bed, and a situation where a mother rescued her daughter,but was killed herself.
Porgie’s department is being eliminated and merged with a department lower in the value chain. This was an idea that had originated about 10 years ago but then some dum dum who actually knew what presales and portfolios meant went and saved the day, took over the department and flourished it until he realized his health was more important (and his wallet) than ZiggleHeckletown. Then Porgie came along and figured he could sweet talk his way into something that was way above his 80 IQ. This was ok since no one wanted the department anyway. The problem was that this department had a function that was indeed complicated; Porgie never understood this function and now when budgets are being eliminated Porgie can’t find a defense in hell on how to keep this department’s integrity intact. So bye bye department and bye bye Porgie.
trying to team up with his old friend WitchiePoo (birds of a feather, or same orientation, flock together) and put the squeeze on Heckle, but you gotta find something to squeeze before you put the squeeze and with Heckle, you may have problems finding this something to squeeze. He’s good though on doing cartwheels and flip flops so stay entertained.
pretty, the weather’s hot and the food is spicy. I’m also (after work hours) gonna be singing “The House of the Rising Sun” in a notable DF club accompagnied by a local band called Los Lobos de la luna llena. Yep, I’m also gonna be doing the “sun” solo on the sax. Will certainly post pictures.
A Greek policewoman stares in horror at the lifeless body of her slain comrade lying in a sidewalk in Athens. The Greek capital has been plagued by civil unrest and criminal activity. Greek police are currently in the process, with the help of foreign advisors including Scotland Yard, of a major restructuring effort which when completed will include quick deployment units .
July, and July the 1st is around the corner. For Europeans this may mean vacation planning (crisis, what crisis?), summer cleaning. For Brits and Americans it boils down to one thing, time to move. July is that month that most Canadians, Americans and northern Europeans, those that rent rather than own, change apartments.
involves assembly and disassembly, complications and a lot of space (from say 130 sq.m. to 150 sq. m.) then your best option is to use a 
The
buying 
The 
experienced many ups and downs in his life (Shatner came home one night and discovered the body of his second wife, Narine Kidd, an alcoholic, dead (drowned) in their pool) and career (for example after 
surpassed all the trials and tribulations and bounced back.
The residents of the Athenian suburb of 
Viviane Reding : “
lowered as of July this year, according to an agreement sealed yesterday (24 March) over the EU’s so-called ‘roaming regulation’. As part of the deal, however, telecoms companies will still be able to subject users to an initial charging period of 30 seconds, which should enable operators to maintain some revenue.
to less than 3 cents by 2012. Under the restrictions previously enacted, the limit on voice roaming charges is set to fall on July 1 to 43 cents per minute for making a call and 19 cents for receiving one, down from 46 cents and 22 cents now.
SMS sent from abroad, while customers of the Dutch company KPN can be charged up to €75 cents (in these cases VAT is already included). The new price controls would limit the retail charge for sending a cross-border text message while traveling in Europe to 11 cents. Currently, the average for messages while roaming within the E.U. is 29 cents.
The Commission’s review of the roaming regulation also seeks to abolish per-minute tariffs in roamed phone calls. Currently, most operators impose this billing system, which, according to the European telecom regulators group (ERG), charges customers for 24% more than the time they actually spend on the phone.
to gradually decrease to €34 cents in 2012. Charges for receiving calls will also go down. Softer stance on data roaming On data roaming, which is the use of the Web via a mobile phone while abroad, the Commission adopted a softer stance following strong pressure from the industry and concerns raised by consumer groups. The service is in fact at a nascent stage and price caps were considered to be a potential obstacle to the take-up of mobile Internet. 
Nevertheless, the Commission requested more transparency from operators. From 2010, consumers should be able to set in advance the maximum amount they want to spend on data roaming, after which their service would be interrupted. This will avoid the so-called ‘bill shocks’ experienced by some tourists, charged thousands of euros for downloading movies or songs while abroad. The problem is that cut-off schemes are not easy to apply from a technical point of view. Summer 2010 is regarded as an optimistic target. For cross-border Internet surfing, lawmakers are poised to set a wholesale price cap per 
megabyte of 50 eurocents to 1. The current EU average is 3.60 per megabyte. Even the lower limit is considerably more than people pay under flat-rate broadband plans at home, but might eliminate huge bills incurred by unwitting vacationers. In addition, the Commission proposed introducing caps at wholesale level on data roaming to tackle the highest tariffs and to increase competition among operators. Wholesale tariffs are those charged by an operator to another one in order to carry a service. They apply when a consumer uses, while abroad, the network of another operator. Mobile users will also benefit from lower charges for phone calls received while abroad. These fees will be capped from the current €
22 cents per minute to €11 cents per minute from July 2011 (VAT excluded). Moreover, a new cap has been introduced for roamed text messages, which should cost a maximum of €11 cents (VAT excluded) from July 2009. More good news for consumers came with an agreement on a new system to prevent so-called ‘bill shocks’ for data roaming, which frequently hit mobile Internet users when abroad. The new regulation sets a €50 limit for data roaming per month (excluding VAT). Once a customer reaches 80% of this amount, the mobile operator will send a warning message, giving details of a procedure to continue data roaming. Should the user fail to respond, the operator must automatically cut the service once the cap is reached.
most operators impose per-minute tariffs for roamed calls, a practice which ends up billing customers for 24% more time than they actually spend on the phone, according to the European telecom regulators group (ERG). “It’s like taking the train from Brussels to Paris and being charged to go to Rome,” explained Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva. The compromise will allow operators to impose an initial charging period of 30 seconds, after which the per-second system will be applied. This means that if an operator wants to exploit this advantage, a roamed phone call lasting 15, three or 27 seconds will always be charged as though it had lasted 30 seconds.
Other data roaming services (such as sending emails and pictures or web-browsing from mobile phones or laptops) will be regulated at wholesale level – i.e. there will be a price cap for the rates the host operator charges a roaming customer’s home operator, calculated on a kilobyte basis:
and was willing to fight to the death for his beliefs. He thus joined 
The ,_First_Balkan_War,_Greece.jpg)
by both sides but again those that fight for their freedom can be forgiven. Those that deny freedom and when all else fails subscribe to genocide, can not!
One of the entries documents my grandfather’s regiment entering a village and finding the murdered schoolteacher and students.
charge of district 2, supplies. He went from store to store from house to house ensuring that all families, Greek, Turkish, Bulgarian, Serbian, Montenegrin had adequate supplies to pass the cold winter. When the supplies from HQ ran out my grandfather used, with full consent of his superiors, his own regiment’s supplies.
The locals never forgot my grandfather’s benevolence (my grandfather stayed and married in Thessaloniki). When the 
Let me tell you about Stamos Stamos (yep, that’s his full name; so you can call him Stamos, Mr. Stamos, Master Stamos or Stamos “squared” without feeling that you have offended or misrepresented him in any way).
Stamos 
always had a knack for technical talent ( in Stamos’ class there was also a gent that lived about a block away from 
first digital system in South America, in Chile. There was something good about witnessing a remote village being able to dial with a push of a button emergency medical services when in the past they relied on snail mail and word of mouth ( and very fast runners).
dedicated people don’t you? When you had to design a fix within 3 hours, and load it on a live switch to return the system to normal load levels (no errors allowed ’cause if the correction backfired and 
Paul Krugman
The Dark Press
and
who scored lately a 14,15m jump and has consistently displayed readiness for greater challenges.
Apollonius
CEO Stephen Schwarzman said on Tuesday that up to 45 percent of the world’s wealth has been destroyed by the global credit crisis.
argued for his release pending sentencing and a list of assets put he and his wife’s net worth between $823 million and $826 million, according to court papers filed on Friday.
The summer of 401 BC saw the 
my circuits gleam.
Long Term Evolution
In his monogram “Socrates – towards discovering ancient wisdom”
philosopher, his life and his works, and to support the premise originally presented by 19th century historian and philosopher 
Having a strategy means that you know what you want, and you/ve decided on a way to get what you want. Its a good recipe for getting somewhere while not having a strategy is a sure shortcut to getting nowwhere.
and riches from the Athenian colonies and the east, also brought with them Colera (through the rodents that usually infest a ship) which devastated Athens (Colera works well in a sealed environment, such as a city surrounded by walls as many in the middle ages found out).
The saying that “change is permanent” applies to the networks that support the way people communicate. There is more competition on the supply side, with more companies 
The need for broadband network is ever more evident and the thirst for ever increasing high speed connections and throughput is unquenchable. With high speed networks in place, profitable applications will surely follow. The more high speed throughput is delayed, the more innovative applications will be delayed and so will revenue substitutes to the price erosion experienced by basic voice call, which was in the past the bread and butter revenue generator of the communication network.
Well PM Erdogan’s outburst in Davos is well known by now. Erdogan continued his hefty performance last week by indicating that he was ready to take “physical measures” against the panel moderator, because the panel moderator “patted” on the shoulder the Turkish PM.
early episodes of the television series 
Well, the Chinese are discovering the magic of Laissez Faire Market economies. The pic depicts Chinese blue and white collar workers posting their resumes/specializations on the sidewalk of Jengu Streen in the South Western province of Scetchuan.
Mirella Viser, president of the 
Mrs. Viser had for many years served as board member of ING Asian arm in Hong Kong, and in 2007 was recommended by 
completing the transcontinental railway that would tie the country together from coast to coast. One of the main reasons for this was the ability to carry troops to the various parts of the Dominion, as necessity required (
The Lund farm, which belonged to a Swedish Imigrant couple, was one of the places that Canadian Pacific engineers would spend sometime resting and reassembling.
body, known as DOATAP has 
corporations make. The government is trying to drown, or keep out the competition, instead of revamping and renovating its institutions and allowing them to compete freely. The government doesn’t seem to understand that the best defense is offense, and that you cannot eliminate competition, or sweep it under the rug. The more you ignore it, the more powerful it will become eventually resulting in a tidal wave of change that will break down any wall of resistance, and overwhelming even the most solid of institutions.
1 institution (example Berkelee or M.I.T.) DOATAP does not accredit the said degree as equal to the one offered by the local engineering schools (5 year diploma), even though the curricula of the said institutions may be superior to the local ones. Since the foreign institution presents a 4 year program, and the local institution boasts a 5 year program the DOATAP rules that equivalence will only be gained by the degree holder participating in a year of study in a local university (even though the sum 
of years and content may be covered by the foreign institutions secondary or pre-university curricula, which in sum is equal if not more to the number of years of totally secondary and tertiary education in Greece)
civil service while most communist followers were forced to drift to private enterprise. The end result was that after a couple of years, the communist supporters were considerably wealthy, while the right wind civil servants were still supported by “working class” wages.
they are not plagued by strikes, riots ? Is it because when you enter, you usually know the date you will graduate assuming you successfully complete the required curricula? 
2009. Initial rumours pointed to a 15000 job slash at Microsoft but this was denied by the company saying that the cuts would be fewer, and that the largest software developer in the world would seek other ways to trim costs. Microsoft currently employees around 91,000. Questions about massive layoffs at 
the recruitment sector. This is of particular strategic importance since this function is mainly involved in attracting top talent from universities and the industry at large.
Sweden; Total of 5000) as part of cost reducing measures.
Mobile Entertainment Service Market to Increase threefold to $64bn by 2012 . Music, games and mobile TV will be the major contributors to the global mobile entertainment market which will rise to more than $64 billion by 2012. Other mobile entertainment sectors include User-generated Content, Gambling, Adult and Infotainment.
service fees, content fees, advertising and paid interactions such as games, videos, and seasonal greetings.
cost-effective. A point-to-multipoint communication can broadcast the same content to a large number of viewers. This is where MBMS or Mobile Broadcast Multicast Service steps in to help the network operators. MBMS is standardized by 3GPP as part of the WCDMA evolution and will be available for both GSM/EDGE and WCDMA connections. In MBMS, with point-to-multipoint (PTM) paradigm, ideal for mobile TV, data packets are simultaneously transmitted from a single source to multiple destinations. Unlike in the unicast paradigm, where data packets are transmitted from a single source to a single person. The MBMS technology allows a group of people interested in a particular program, in a particular area, to watch the same program simultaneously, via both existing GSM as well as UMTS networks. The MBMS technology supports HSPA in a situation where higher loads have to be transmitted in dense areas, saving significant network capacity and enabling a more efficient use of network resources, which ultimately results in cost saving for network operators. MBMS is also included as a supported technology in Long Term Evolution.
maximum compatibility with existing DVB-T networks and systems. 
4K-mode
offer enhanced quality. Quality indicators span increased bandwidth, elevated sophistication in terms of large-scale information provision, and improved customization capabilities. The maturity of key 4G technologies such as OFDMA, MIMO, and optimized MAC scheduling algorithms realize a range of desirable features. These include enhanced handover and mobility, major infrastructure design requirements that promote a rapid response, elevated session rates, increased capacity, reduced user charges, swift return on investment (ROI) for operators, and simplified autonomous terminals. WiMAX, in this context, describes an interesting choice for pre-4G technology. Its rapid time to market provides an ALL IP flat network solution that can complement existing 2G/3G networks so as to deliver mobile TV and video services with a guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS). Based on the mobile access methods mentioned above, there exist a variety of competing technologies that are available for mobile TV service provision. The three main categories cover mobile and broadcast networks and DVB-SH for satellite. The availability of multiple broadcasting technologies offers operators more options to choose from, and vendors richer experiences in mobile TV solutions. Additionally, the competition between different technologies is necessary to promote the development of mobile TV. Given that 3G networks are currently under utilized, some mobile operators are offering streamed TV and video content at highly attractive prices to encourage consumers to adopt and use their services. WiMAX TDD, which operates under a duplexing mode, is best suited for data applications and advanced antenna technologies. The rapid scheduling of uplinks and downlinks realizes bandwidth requirements for different applications. Flexible and diversified mobile TV and video service business models are facilitated, which results in maximized profit margins for operators.
The ravishing miss 
Government’s Green Travel Plan
For 17 years Joseph Rockom, 47, climbed the rungs of American Microsystems Inc., a semiconductor manufacturer in California’s Silicon Valley. Diligence and loyalty won him the rank of vice president and chief financial officer. Rockom’s company was hurting, and its parent, Gould Inc. of Chicago, was getting frustrated. ”I could feel what was coming,” he says. To cut costs, American Microsystems started laying off managers. One morning he was conducting a staff meeting when the division president walked in, postponed the meeting, and escorted Rockom to the president’s office. ”As soon as I sat down,” says Rockom, ”I thought uh-oh, I’m getting fired. As the president delivered the news, my mind wandered. I was thinking that in six months I would look back and be glad.”
survey, 56%, or 141 of the 250 participants, have found new jobs. Another 17% are looking but are still at their old posts. The remaining 27% are the ones in precarious straits: They have left the old job but have failed to find a new one. Of those who found jobs, only 21% did so in three months or less. But for 66%, the search lasted an arduous four to nine months. And 13% searched from ten months to almost two years. Some outplacement firms warn that clients can expect to spend roughly one month in the job market for every $10,000 in salary they are seeking. The search gets harder with age, but only up to a point. Among FORTUNE’s seekers, those under 35 have a much higher rate of success than the 35-to-44 crowd, which in turn has done better than the 45-to-54s. Beyond 55, at least in FORTUNE’s sample, the success rate improves again. This figure may be high partly because only the dedicated job seekers — or the desperate — are still in the labor force. Many executives who are let go at this age drop out of the market and retire. TO HEAR severed execs tell it, the age problem is entirely in the eyes of the beholders — the prospective employers. Richard Busby, 55, one of those surveyed, was director of purchasing at Goodall Rubber Co. in New Jersey when the company was acquired by Trelleborg of Sweden . Busby lost his position in a major reorganization. He has a strong job prospect now but says: ”I did mass mailings, as many as the computer would spit out. I got a lot of responses, but I think when most saw my age, something went awry.” Fred Holland, 51, spent most of his career with Conoco before becoming president of Irex Corp., a Denver drilling-fund subsidiary of Integrated Resources. After falling prices crippled the oil business, Irex shriveled from 70 employees to 12, and Holland, feeling underemployed, quit. For several months he searched in the oil industry before giving up. ”Employers view older men as often set in their ways and hard to manage,” he says. ”Or, if the older guy is really good, then he’s seen as a threat.” This tale has a happy ending. Holland recently used his other skills — as a highly successful personal investor — to land a job as a personal financial counsellor with Lynn Hutchings & Associates in Denver. He says he is glad he will be judged on the value he produces from now on, rather than on his title. This year he expects to make about $25,000 in fees, down sharply from his 
previous earnings of $150,000, but he believes his income will eventually approach its former level as his clientele expands. It just might do that: Holland figures he has increased his net worth 20-fold over the past ten years, mostly through smart investing. SURPRISINGLY, nearly half the newly employed executives in FORTUNE’s survey have already boosted their income. While the remainder is earning the same or less, many hope to come out ahead because they have been offered more equity participation or their potential bonuses are larger. Take Thomas Johnson, 52, who used to be president of a Dallas subsidiary of Redman Industries that produces mobile homes Johnson lost his job because, as he puts it, ”There was a health problem: Jim Redman, the chairman, got sick of me.” After seven months, networking landed him a position as president of High Chaparral, a manufacturer of prefabricated housing and a subsidiary of Home Savings Association of Midland, Texas. Now Johnson is busily expanding the company from one factory to six. Like most in FORTUNE’s survey, Johnson won’t reveal his new salary, but says, ”While the base is down, the bonus opportunity is up. Home Savings believes in putting a big carrot out there, and I’m working much harder.” Most successful hunters bag their quarry by venturing into a different kind of business. In the survey, 62% of the job finders switched industries and 60% are working in smaller companies. Robert Freiburger, 41, used to be a director of manufacturing at a unit of ITT (annual revenues: $12.7 billion) that turns out night-vision goggles used by the military. Now he is general manager of LC Systems, a division of Eagle-Picher Industries ($648 million) producing liquid crystal displays. Smaller is better, says Freiburger. He was promoted three times in his last ten years at ITT and says he treasures his experience there because it forced him to excel. ”But you had to put up with a lot of day-to-day agony. ITT wasn’t particularly people-oriented.” Eagle-Picher’s management, he says, ”gives us freedom from constant corporate review of everything. They don’t believe in prolific memo writing, policy manuals, and teams of executives descending on you every month. They believe in loyalty of the individual to the company more than larger bureaucratic organizations tend to do.” A few even say they wouldn’t want to work for a big company again. James Smith, 47, was a divisional president of the Donald L. Bren Co., a major real estate developer in Irvine, California. He was pushed out and now is a partner and senior vice president at Kimball Small Properties, another developer less than half the size of Bren. Smith says he’s much more comfortable at the smaller company. ”Big corporations don’t take care of the needs of their employees. Only the C.E.O.s’ needs are important, and they use the corporation as their vehicle. I was never told why I was being let go, and that bothered me tremendously.” Some of the more independent-minded have started their own businesses. Asit Shroff, 42, was a vice president and controller at the Iselin, New Jersey, office of Fleet Finance Inc. Then the New Jersey operation was consolidated with another in Atlanta. Fearing a big loss on the sale of his home and reluctant to uproot his family, he has opened a computer dealership with a friend in Roslyn Heights, New York. Shroff says he’s making ”close” to what he earned at Fleet and has a 140-mile round-trip commute six days a week. But, he says, ”I like being my own boss. I don’t regret a thing.” Like Shroff, exactly half the job finders in FORTUNE’s survey now perform different tasks from those at their old employers. A slight majority are also supervising fewer subordinates. Some feel a sense of liberation. Johnson of High Chaparral, for instance, used to be insulated from his operations managers by a layer of seven vice presidents. Now he has no vice presidents. ”I’m getting in and doing things now,” he says, ”and having more fun.” JOYS SUCH AS THESE remain an elusive dream for those still on the Long March. As they work into the night cranking out resumes, savings dwindle and phone bills mount. Many are perplexed. They are not society’s underachievers and misfits, after all, but winners who steadily advanced to management jobs their companies now deem unaffordable. Laments an executive in his early 40s who never before experienced unemployment: ”This is the first time since I was 15 and applying for work in a local store that I have had to search for a job.” E. A. Butler of the headhunting firm, who is also the author of four books of advice for job-seeking executives, thinks many of today’s younger executives have a knack for shortening the ordeal. Most job offers that result from prior networking, he says, come in the first 60 days. The yuppie types, he observes, opportunistically grab the first job that comes along and, if it proves disappointing, press on with the search from their new position. The older crowd is too fussy, Butler says, at 
least for a while. ”The closer they get to retirement, the more careful they tend to be. They think this is going to be the last job, when they really should regard it as the next assignment.” At first they want as much money and prestige as they had before. Or their wives don’t want to relocate and their families, striving to be supportive, tell them not to settle for less than they think they are worth. Many, Butler adds, have ego problems: ”They think the mold was broken after they were created. It takes about six months for them to realize what they are up against and get religion. By then valuable time has been lost and they have to explain why they have been out of a job for half a year.” Older executives often neglect networking. Butler guesses that only about 10% of executives in big companies actively cultivate useful acquaintances outside their firm. ”They labor at their work and raise their families,” he says. Joseph Rockom recalls the awkwardness he felt at first going to friends and business associates. ”I thought I was begging, hat in hand. You’d better get over that because people want to help.” Mere common courtesy goes a long way toward keeping a network strong. David Myers, 44, was vice president in charge of loss prevention and safety for Household Merchandising of suburban Chicago, the retailing division of Household International. When the division became independent in a leveraged buyout, about 40 corporate executives, including Myers, were let go. Myers, who saw it coming, began compiling a list of contacts before the ax fell. Says he: ”No one is too unimportant to keep in touch with. Nobody’s phone call should be ignored. People who don’t return calls make a mistake from a business and a personal standpoint by not maintaining contacts. If you end up looking for a job, the most important thing is being able to say: ‘Hi, I have a problem, do you know of anything? Here is my phone number.’ ” Within five months Myers had found a job with the Stop & Shop grocery chain of Quincy, Massachusetts. He is due to succeed one of the people on his network list who will soon retire from a position for which he recommended Myers. CONNECTIONS, of course, are not everything. A few of FORTUNE’s survey respondents got results by sending resumes cold to companies they had carefully screened for operations in their field of business. Freiburger’s letter to Eagle-Picher brought a company jet with execs one Thursday to his home town of Roanoke, Virginia. They took him to lunch and offered him a job starting the following Monday morning at a plant in Exton, Pennsylvania. Few get jobs by sending unsolicited resumes to head hunters, though it does happen. But one found salvation answering a classified ad in the Washington Post. Outplacement firms are sometimes criticized for being little more than healing balm for the corporate conscience, but these services got surprisingly high marks in the survey. Of the job finders, 33% used outplacement, and three-quarters of them say it was useful. Its main value, beyond boosting crushed egos, is in coaching people for job interviews. Outplacement firms often provide office space and secretarial services and encourage job hunters to don suits and ties, turn up at the outplacement ”office” every day, and view the search as a job. A
pic: “Τά Νέα 7/1/08″
Costas was born in a place within the deep regions of 
and a particular “gentleman” of Irish descent broke a bottle and went for Costas’ throat. Costas, spontaneously picked up a chair and summarily brought it down on the Irish bloke’s skull, killing the noble gent (when an Irishman and a Greek fight its over a woman, or money. In this case it was for the eyes of a lovely Irish lass named Doreen).
two communicated since Costas could barely pronounce a word of English except : “oa,to,tree,for,fa” (i.e. One, two three, four, five)) quickly led Costas out the back door.
Viral marketing is an idea that spreads–and an idea that while it is spreading actually helps market your business or cause.
their cell phones, the more the idea spread, the more people wanted a camera. 
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